Absence (Bahrain, 2008, 11 min)
By : Mohammed Rashed Bu-Ali
Screens: Saturday, March 13th, 5:30pm
Synopsis:
A man checks who's at the door, but doesn't find anyone. 'Absence' deals with the poignant subject of loneliness in a fast moving society.
Director’s Bio:
Mohammed has gained a reputation as one of the most promising filmmakers in Bahrain recently with the release of two short films. His award-winning 10-minute long Absence – a touching story about the frailty and foreignness of aging – demonstrated what this 25 year old is capable of achieving with limited resources and ‘zero’ budget. It went on to be screened in various regional and international film festivals and won him the ‘jury award’ at the seventh Rotterdam Arab Film Festival. In Absence, Mohammed showed a subtle and deft touch rarely seen in local films, and a true vision in terms of how to tell a story with depth, but with as little action as possible. Mohammed shot his other film, From the West, over the span of only three days during his Eid holiday, as his then full-time job as a lawyer meant he had little time for his passion. But this did not deter the ambitious filmmaker. His interest in producing films began at the age of 17, and he is currently working on several projects, including a commission to produce his first feature-length movie.
