Cinema
الشظية
Mohamed Ali al-Ferjani · 1986
Synopsis
Salem, a woodcutter, saves from thirst a highwayman he meets in the desert, who takes his she-camel from him under threat before giving it back. Bound together in spite of themselves, the two men travel on through a stretch of land where the mines left by the last war still lie dormant, while the men of the tribe, worried by their absence, set out to look for them.
Context
The screenplay was born from a newspaper item that Abdessalam al-Madani first took to television; the latter sent it on to the public film company, which entrusted it to the director. The shoot took place in 1984, on real locations and with entirely Libyan technical crews, without a single studio shot: the cave where the two men take shelter was sought out in the desert rather than suggested by filters. The film was shown at the Damascus festival in 1985 and released the following year. Alongside the drama, it makes room for weddings and songs of the countryside.
Who it is for
Ninety-five minutes, in Arabic. Nothing is required to enter the story, except knowing that these devices were never removed and that they still claim victims.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the first and last fictional feature film made entirely in Libya, in both production and technical crew.