Suhaib Gasmelbari

Suhaib Gasmelbari (born 17 December 1979, Omdurman, Sudan) is a Sudanese film director and cinematographer.

Suhaib Gasmelbari
Born1979 (age 41–42)
Omdurman
NationalitySudanese
Alma materUniversity of Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis
OccupationFilm director, cinematographer
Years active2012-present
Notable work
Talking About Trees (2019)

Biography

Gasmelbari was born in Omdurman, Sudan on the 17th of December 1979. He lived parts of his early childhood in Russia before returning to Sudan once again. At the age of 16, Gasmelbari went into exile in the United Arab Emirates, where he finished highschool, and later he briefly attended a university in Alexandria, Egypt before moving to Tours, France with the intention of learning French language and studying literature and philosophy. He moved to France in 2002.[1] Gasmelbari later studied cinema at the University of Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis. After graduation, he found work as a freelance cameraman and editor, working with journalists on reports for Al Qarra, Al Jazeera and France 24 TV stations.[2]

For his master's degree, Gasmelbari attempted to direct a fictional film, but had difficulty getting official permits and dropped the project.[3] Next, he directed short films and researched the Sudanese film archives, discovering lost films.[4] Gasmelbari released the film Sudan's Forgotten Films in 2017, which was named the "Arts and Culture Story of the Year" at the 2018 FPA Media Awards.[5] He has taken part in projects saving and digitizing films such as those of Ibrahim Shaddad, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim and Eltayeb Mahdi.[6]

In 2019, Gasmelbari directed his first feature-length film, a documentary called Talking About Trees, which was produced by Marie Balducchi.[2] He had to film it entirely in secret, due to state supression.[1][3] The film depicts the efforts of veteran Sudanese filmmakers Ibrahim, Suleiman, Manar and Altayeb, founders of the Sudanese Film Group, to revive cinema in their country. It received the Glasshütte Original Documentary Award at the Berlin International Film Festival 2019 and the FIPRESCI Prize at the International Istanbul Film Festival.[2]

Partial filmography

References
  1. "Interview - Suhaib Gasmelbari". Institut Francais. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. "Talking About Trees". Doha Film Institute. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. Applebaum, Stephen (27 October 2019). "'Talking About Trees': How four men fought to revive Sudan's love for cinema". The National News. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  4. "Suhaib Gasmelbari". Cite des Arts Paris. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  5. Hesham, Soha (22 September 2019). "Sudanese filmmaker Suhaib Gasmelbari wins Variety Magazine Award at Gouna Festival". Ahram Online. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  6. "Suhaib Gasmelbari". Festival Marrakech. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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