The film is based on true events that took place in Aden around 2019.
Yemen has selected Amr Gamal’s The Burdened (Al Murhaqoon) as its official entry for Oscar’s international feature film race. The movie world premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival where it won a number of awards.
This marks a significant milestone for Amr Gamal, as it is the second time one of his films has been chosen to represent Yemen at the Oscars. In 2018, his romantic comedy 10 Days Before the Wedding carried Yemen’s flag in the international film race.
The film secured its place in Yemen’s Oscar submission through a selection committee appointed by the Yemeni Ministry of Culture.
The Burdened is being represented in global markets by Films Boutique. The film is produced by Mohsen Alkhalifi and Amr Gamal at Adenium Productions, with co-production support from Amjad Abu Alala, Mohammed Alomda at Station Films, and the Red Sea International Film Festival.
The film is directed by Amr Gamal, who shares screenwriting credits with Mazen Refaat, and stars Khaled Hamdan, Abeer Mohammed, Samah Alamrani, and Awsam Abdulrahman.
The Burdened has already amassed a collection of prestigious accolades on its journey, including the Amnesty International Award and the Panorama Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival, among others.
It also brings together Yemen, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia in a landmark co-production that was first brought to international attention at the 2022 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it earned the Works in Progress Post-Production Development Award in the festival’s industry sidebar, Eastern Promises.
MAD Solutions is managing the film’s distribution in the Arab world, while Films Boutique is managing its international sales.
Amr Gamal is an independent Yemeni film and theatre director. In 2003, he received the President’s Award for Playwriting, and in 2005, he established the Khaleej Aden Theater Troupe and has written and directed all of its theatre productions since.
