Directed by Hajar Alrifai
Produced by Huma Gupta
Executive Producers:
Mahwish Khalil
Meitha Al Mazrooei
Sound production by Omar Alrifai
Supported by The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT
A Climate Futures, Cities Past Production
In the month of Ramadan, the filmmaker (Hajar) visits her family’s hometown, Nasib, Syria, where her grandmother (Mariam) has cultivated olive trees for thirty years. After they break their fast, they share stories and songs. Mariam nostalgically recounts her childhood days spent herding her family’s sheep and working in Nasib’s wheat fields. Widowed since 2011, Mariam lives with her daughter and devotes the majority of her time to the trees, which have suffered due to the prolonged drought in the region. She relies on municipal water which regularly cuts off during the day, so she ventures into the olive grove at night to water her trees. The water shortage is only the tip of the iceberg: families in the village struggle to survive on rationed bread, petrol, gas, and electricity. In the midst of this crisis, Mariam finds solace in visits to her friends and relatives, though she doesn’t need to go far as her brother (Mohammad) lives next door. His successful business ventures have allowed him to build a multi-million lira well on his property. Hajar tours the well (and its adjoining in-ground swimming pool) with Mohammad, who is proud of this lucrative development. Mariam calls her long-time friend, Um Saado, the elderly matriarch of a Bedouin family to request fresh cheese. The next day, when they go to pick up the order, they meet Um Saado’s daughter (Hamdah) who walks them through the encampment. The Saados struggle to stay afloat amidst rising inflation and have gone into debt to feed their flocks. Later, Hajar asks her grandmother what will happen to the olive trees after she passes. Their conversation is a backdrop for footage of Nasib and its precarious landscape.
Read more about the film making workshop: https://jaeonline.org/issue-article/may-our-egos-die-so-that-the-world-may-live/
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