A Screaming Man

Colour, 35 mm
France, Belgium, Chad, 2010, 92 min
Section: Open Eyes

Synopsis

Chad, the present day. Adam once enjoyed fame as a swimming champion. Today he is over 60, working as a lifeguard at the pool of a luxury hotel in N’Djaména with the help of his son Abdel. When the hotel is sold to new owners, Adam is forced to transfer responsibility of the pool to his son and to accept an inferior job. He is terribly affronted, taking the loss of his prestigious position as a humiliation. Civil war is raging in the country and the government is gathering forces against the insurgents. The authorities demand that the inhabitants make a contribution to the army, either money or a volunteer capable of serving. Although Adam lives a well-ordered life in a model household, he is a pauper. And recently Abdel has been adding to his worries, having begun to show a certain disrespect towards his father. The district administrator hounds Adam to contribute to the war effort, and despite the fact that Adam gets along well with him, the man is hard to oppose. Adam may be penniless, but he does have a son....

About the director

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (b. 1960, Abéché, Chad) studied film in Paris. Although he started out as a journalist, he shot his first short film, Maral Tanié, in 1994. His first feature, Bye-Bye Africa, took Best First Film at the 1999 Venice IFF. This was followed by Abouna [Abouna (Notre père), 2002] screened in the Quinzaine des réalisateurs section at Cannes, and Dry Season (Daratt), which won the Special Jury Prize at Venice in 2006; both films were presented at KVIFF. The director also makes shorts and documentaries.