A THOUSAND FIRES
Saeed Taji Farouky | France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Palestine 2021 | 90 min. | OmeU
14.05. | 7pm
De France, Saal 1 | TICKETS
together with CRUDE AESTHETICS
PANEL DISCUSSION with Saeed Taji Farouky | 15.05. | 4–6pm
Austrian Premiere
In presence of Saeed Taji Farouky
Htwe Tin’s and Thein Shwe’s lives are shaped by a belief in karma and astrology. The couple run a hand-operated oil pump in the Magway region and work hard to provide a better future for their children. All hopes rest on their youngest son, Zin Ko Aung. But when he decides to leave home to make a life of his own and break the cycle of poverty, the couple discovers how hard it is to let go.
Shot in colorful images, A THOUSAND FIRES reveals the story of a family in the unregulated oil fields of Myanmar. A powerful and honest family portrait in a time of change and in search of a little happiness.
Director: Saeed Taji Farouky
Production: Estelle Robin You
Co-production: Palmyre Badinier, Joram Willink, May Odeh
Camera: Saeed Taji Farouky
Editing: Catherine Rascon
Sound: Maxence Ciekawy
Sound Design: James Bulley
Music: Fatima Dunn
SCREENINGS & AWARDS
Locarno Film Festival, Semaine de la Critique (2021) – Won: Marco Zucchi Award
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (2021) – Main Competition
FIPADOC – International Documentary Festival, France (2022) – International Competition
First Look – Museum of the Moving Image, United States (2022) – Official Selection
BIOGRAPHY
Saeed Taji Farouky is a Palestinian-British filmmaker and radical film educator whose work deals with themes of conflict, human rights, and colonialism. His 2015 documentary, Tell Spring Not to Come This Year, premiered at Berlinale 2015 where it won 2 awards.
FILMOGRAPHY
2021 A THOUSAND FIRES, Documentary
2019 STRANGE CITIES ARE FAMILIAR, Short
2016 THEY LIVE IN FORESTS, THEY ARE EXTREMELY SHY, Short
2015 TELL SPRING NOT TO COME THIS YEAR, Documentary, co-director
2013 THE RUNNER, Documentary
2013 THERE WILL BE SOME WHO WILL NOT FEAR EVEN THAT VOID, Documentary
