Hamada

About

Hamada | Eloy Domínguez Serén | Western Sahara | 2018 | 88 min

A minefield and the second largest military wall in the world separate Sidahmed, Zaara and Taher from their homeland that they only know from their parents’ stories. They belong to the Sahrawis, one of the world’s most forgotten people, abandoned in a refugee camp in the middle of the desert ever since Morocco drove them out of Western Sahara forty years ago. With vitality and humor, Hamada is the unusual portrait of a group of young friends living in a refugee camp in the stony Saharan desert. They spend their days fixing cars, even though they can’t really take them anywhere, fighting for political change and dreaming of a future that most likely will never happen. With all the expectations, strengths and illusions of being young they all find different ways to expand beyond the physical borders that surround them.

Awards

OpenECAM Prize, D’A Film Festival Barcelona, 2019

Best First Film & Young Jury Award, Cinéma du Réel, 2019

Tempo Documentary Award, Tempo Documentary Festival, 2019

Best Emerging Director, Porto/Post/Doc, 2018

Best Spanish Film & Best Spanish Director, Gijón IFF, 2018

MECAS Award for the best work-in-progress, Las Palmas IFF, 2018

Genève Award for the best pitch, Visions du Réel Forum, 2017

The Audience Engagement Award, Visions du Réel Forum, 2017