She Was Not Alone
Spring Grants 2024 - Post-Production Stage
Hussein Al-Asadi / Feature Documentary / Iraq, United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Qatar / 90 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Documentary
Synopsis
‘She Was Not Alone’ is a film about the inner, poetic world of Fatima, an inspiring and independent 60-year-old woman who has chosen to remain in Iraq’s southeastern marshlands despite facing ecological collapse. She lives alone with her beloved animals on an island enclave of reed-mat and mud-brick dwellings. This observational documentary follows Fatima for an entire year as she faces obstacles produced by prolonged seasons of drought and flooding, troubling markers of climate change in the delicate wetland ecosystem she inhabits. The film visually narrates her daily rhythms as she navigates this thick, lush waterscape populated by islands of reed, migratory birds, and buffalo herds. Her rhythms of care, stewardship, and play with her non-human kin immediately endear her to the viewer. While her community has faced countless challenges and shrunk over the past century due to military occupation, nearby oil refineries and oil flares, the draining of the marshes, and persecution, Fatima fights to hold on to her life and her buffaloes amidst the existential threat posed by climate change. But she may have to migrate to the city and lose her dearest possessions—her animals and her independence.
Credits
- Director
- Hussein al-Asadi
- Screenwriter
- Hussein al-Asadi
- Producer
- Huma Gupta, Huda al-Kadhimi, Hussein al-Asadi
- Production Company
- Iraq Visions Film Production in association with Ishtar Iraq Film Production
About the Director
Hussein al-Asadi is an emerging director, producer, and cinematographer from Basra, Iraq. He began his career working as the Director of Photography for several short films. Soon after, he began to write, direct, and produce his own films. His first short film, 'Eye of the Mountain,' was released in 2019 and premiered at the Ismailia International Film Festival in Egypt. In 2020, he produced and directed his second short documentary film, 'She Was Not Alone'. The film won several international awards and accolades in the Arab world for Best Short Documentary Film. Al-Asadi has also participated in the 80th Venice Film Festival's Final Cut in Venice, El Gouna Film Festival's Cinegouna Platform, Doha Film Institute's First Cut Lab, Close-Up Documentary Lab, Malmö Arab Film Festival's Industry Days, and Red Sea Film Festival Market for this film project.