The Burdened depicts the lives of people in #Aden and their suffering and issues in a way that reaps awards and draws attention.
Yemeni director Amr Gamal's film "The Burdened" earned Best Director and Best Screenplay prizes at the Youth Cinema section of the Valencia International Film Festival, which took place from June 22 to July 1. This came after he received the Amnesty International Film Award as part of the Berlin International Film Festival's (Berlinale) Independent Jury Awards Ceremony.
"The Burdened" is the first Yemeni film to be included in the Berlin International Film Festival's official selection. Yemeni film production is extremely rare due to a variety of factors, including the country's turmoil, limited resources, and a lack of institutes or colleges for training and education.
The film is based on a true story that takes place in Aden, Yemen. The film follows Ahmed, Esraa, and their three children after they lose their jobs due to an economic crisis, and then discover that Esraa is pregnant with their fourth child, prompting them to have an abortion despite their society's conservative stance, forcing the family to make difficult decisions in order to survive.
The film is directed by Amr Gamal, who also co-wrote the script with Mazen Refaat, and stars Khaled Hamdan, Abeer Mohamed, Samah El Amrani, and Wissam Abdel Rahman.
The film "10 Days Before the Wedding" was also previously created in Aden, and it deals with the impact of economic situations on couples and those preparing to marry. Yemen has very little cinema output, and only a few works are well-known, such as "A New Day in Old Sana'a" and "Al-Kamin" among others. Despite the difficult circumstances, many people in Yemen are engaged in producing television, movie, and theater.
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