ABU HARAZ
Polonia / 2013 / 73 min / Colour
The construction of an enormous dam along the course of the Nile is about to upset life in Abu Haraz, a small village in the desert of Northern Sudan. It is a life consisting of age-old customs, carried out according to the rhythms of nature and traditions. For a number of years, the director documented the vain attempt of the inhabitants to oppose the destiny that awaits their village. In the end, he documented their preparations for leaving and the farewell to their homes, their histories, and their traditions, and the move to a new, cold, sterile village with none of the antique fl avour of Abu Haraz, which now sleeps under the waters of the artifi cial lake.
Maciej J. Drygas
Born in 1956 in Lodz (Poland), after earning a degree in directing from the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, he worked as an assistant to Krzysztof Zanussi and Krzysztof Kieslowski. His video and radio documentaries have won prestigious awards and have been transmitted by stations in Europe, Canada, Brazil, and Australia.
Credits
Subject Maciej J. DrygasCinematography Andrzej MusialEditing Rafal ListopadMusic Pawel SzymanskiProducer Drygas ProductionProduction company Krakow Film Foundation