Sudanese film-maker Amjad Abu Alala’s radiant drama dares to wonder if death could inspire courage rather than fear. In a small village near the Nile, the sheik and his dervish declare that baby Muzamil will die on his 20th birthday. His mother, Sakina (Islam Mubarak), wears black, in premature mourning. Muzamil spends his sheltered youth studying the Qur’an and avoiding the Nile (too many crocodiles), not prepared to meet his end even a second early. Until he encounters Sulaiman (Mahmoud Elsaraj), a former journalist who feasts on movies, booze and girls. “Try sinning,” he suggests. But teenage transgression isn’t a foregone conclusion. Mustafa Shehata dials up the brooding Muzamil’s inner turmoil as he questions the beliefs he’s swallowed whole.
In cinemas, on Curzon Home Cinema and BFI Player
