THE SHEEP
Written and directed by Nour Gharbi
Cast Nora El Ajiri, Samir El Ajiri, Aziza Essalek, Giuseppe Laudisa
Country Italy
Year 2021
Duration 10’
Language Arabic
SYNOPSIS
A little Muslim girl befriends the sheep her parents brought home for the so-called Feast of the Sacrifice.
PRODUCTION
Production Raganella Production
Associate production Roma Tre University (CPA – Audiovisual Production Center)
Social partners Centro SaMiFo, Association for Animal Health and Protection, Fausto Rossano Award Association
Supporters Crowdfunding campaign: Anna Eletto, Paola Valiani, Giacomo Cecchinelli, Carla Bellavia, Mario Colibazzi, Benedetta Leggio, Leonardo De Franceschi
CREW
General organizer Alessandra Ruggieri
Director of photography and camera operator “A” Gianni Chiarini
Camera operator “B” Nour Gharbi
Camera assistants Francesca Mazzilli, Tommaso Perrone
Production sound mixer Simone Lucarella
Costume designer Aziza Essalek
Make-up artist Silvia Castellucci
Production designer Consuelo Fabi
Props and special effects Alessandro Iacopelli
Runner Ismail Arab
Editing and color grading Nour Gharbi
Sound editing Riccardo Cocozza
Music Tribe Of Noise & Circus Marcus
Eid festival consultant Samir El Ajiri
Locations and animal handler La Fattoria degli Animali
Eid food and sweets Kheira Lebniouri
COVID-19 protocol supervisor Giancarlo Santone
COVID-19 screening doctors Antonio Spina, Loredana Madonia
Technical equipment CPA – Centro Produzione Audiovisivi
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
The idea for this short film comes from a particular episode of my childhood, when my parents brought a sheep home with the intention of slaughtering it for the so-called Festival of Sacrifice. I still remember being deeply affected when it was killed. It was my first direct confrontation with death, and also the moment I understood that, for an animal to become food, it first has to be slaughtered. With The Sheep, I tried to tell an experience that, sooner or later, every child faces, and I chose to do so through the eyes of Amira, a Muslim girl who discovers, through her relationship with a sheep, some fundamental truths about life.
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
Global Migration Imaginaries Award
Festival du Cinéma Réalité 2021 – Jury Prize
FESCAAAL – African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival 2021 – Extra Competition
