MCR: Caution, Powerful Emotions Ahead!
Mazin Elsadig's WELCOME BACK!
This forty nine minutes semi-biopic documentary Welcome Back follows a Canadian activist on his first visit to his original homeland Sudan after 21 years of exile. It is a warm tribute from Mazin Elsadig (of Degrassi-Next Generation), the filmmaker to his own father. A truly emotional and loving account of how the father's journey back home reveals the continued and mutually felt sense of belonging to the people in that part of Africa, who retain their yearnings and hopeful expectations for their loved ones "till death do them part"!
The massive reception of an ordinary person (who is actually not so ordinary as the film reveals at some points) is one representation of the moral codes of a society still based on the extended form of family.
The movie is narrated in a happy way in chapters: Travel, arrival and back to Canada . From the outset the call for prayer azzan on a background of African drums places the viewer into the cultural mood. This is then augmented by one of Sudan's favorite singers on the Oud (lute) instrument, Mohamed Elamin. A sure source of nostalgia aided by good cinematography.
Upon arrival, everyone is excited and the scenes of hugs, outbursts and festivities are so grasping. To all this, good African music is set as a backdrop, especially the meeting at Rabak town from where the visitor and his companions would cross the White Nile to his island of birth, Aba Island. It is imperative when telling about a political activist, which is the other descriptive of the visitor, to endure some political history and therefore listen to some recitations and musings from important political analysts, oh! and also from the visitor himself, bearing in mind that it is a film on him. But don't panic! The movie maker would intervene in due time and some heartily beaten drums will have you stamping the floor.
The movie is really fun to watch particularly by those who disbelieve stories about their dads' homeland told mostly by their moms. It is actually not about absence and return. It's about how this is equaled in tears, drums and well-deserved feasts.
Movie Specs
Note On The Movie Maker
"Mazin Elfadil Elsadig (born September 2, 1987 in Cookesville, Illinois) is an American actor who portrayed Damian Hayes on Degrassi: The Next Generation, guest starring in season 6 and being added to the opening credits in season 7. Besides Degrassi, Mazin has appeared in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Jump In!, along with fellow Degrassi actors Paula Brancati and Jajube Mandiela. He is also known for the Canadian TV show Stoked as the voice of Broseph." courtesy Wiki. Also read on Mazin in these two links:
Mazin on IMDb
Mazin on Degrassi Wiki
______________________________
* By Any Means Necessary is not a phrase to pass by without a note. It was originally used by French philosopher and playwright Jean Paul Sartre in his play Dirty Hands and was translated to English as follows: "I was not the one to invent lies: they were created in a society divided by class and each of us inherited lies when we were born. It is not by refusing to lie that we will abolish lies: it is by eradicating class by any means necessary."
But the phrase was entered into American pop culture by Malcolm X in his last speech in 1965 and was highlighted by Spike Lee in his depiction of Malcolm X in his 1992 movie. The term is now perpetuated by Mazin and Co. and hopefully will snowball into in-depth representations of reality.
This forty nine minutes semi-biopic documentary Welcome Back follows a Canadian activist on his first visit to his original homeland Sudan after 21 years of exile. It is a warm tribute from Mazin Elsadig (of Degrassi-Next Generation), the filmmaker to his own father. A truly emotional and loving account of how the father's journey back home reveals the continued and mutually felt sense of belonging to the people in that part of Africa, who retain their yearnings and hopeful expectations for their loved ones "till death do them part"!
 |
| The Country That Hates Me, Awaits Me! |
The movie is narrated in a happy way in chapters: Travel, arrival and back to Canada . From the outset the call for prayer azzan on a background of African drums places the viewer into the cultural mood. This is then augmented by one of Sudan's favorite singers on the Oud (lute) instrument, Mohamed Elamin. A sure source of nostalgia aided by good cinematography.
Upon arrival, everyone is excited and the scenes of hugs, outbursts and festivities are so grasping. To all this, good African music is set as a backdrop, especially the meeting at Rabak town from where the visitor and his companions would cross the White Nile to his island of birth, Aba Island. It is imperative when telling about a political activist, which is the other descriptive of the visitor, to endure some political history and therefore listen to some recitations and musings from important political analysts, oh! and also from the visitor himself, bearing in mind that it is a film on him. But don't panic! The movie maker would intervene in due time and some heartily beaten drums will have you stamping the floor.
The movie is really fun to watch particularly by those who disbelieve stories about their dads' homeland told mostly by their moms. It is actually not about absence and return. It's about how this is equaled in tears, drums and well-deserved feasts.
Movie Specs
"Welcome Back" 2011, 49 min.
Color, Dolby Digital.
Genre: documentary Drama/family/history.
Countries: Canada, Sudan and Spain.
Production: By Any Means Necessary(BAMNFILMS).*
Cast: Elfadil Elhashimi, family and extended family.
Editing & Cinematography: Mazin Elsadig.
Music: Patric McGroarty.
Directed by: Mazin Elsadig.
Note On The Movie Maker
"Mazin Elfadil Elsadig (born September 2, 1987 in Cookesville, Illinois) is an American actor who portrayed Damian Hayes on Degrassi: The Next Generation, guest starring in season 6 and being added to the opening credits in season 7. Besides Degrassi, Mazin has appeared in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Jump In!, along with fellow Degrassi actors Paula Brancati and Jajube Mandiela. He is also known for the Canadian TV show Stoked as the voice of Broseph." courtesy Wiki. Also read on Mazin in these two links:
Mazin on IMDb
Mazin on Degrassi Wiki
______________________________
But the phrase was entered into American pop culture by Malcolm X in his last speech in 1965 and was highlighted by Spike Lee in his depiction of Malcolm X in his 1992 movie. The term is now perpetuated by Mazin and Co. and hopefully will snowball into in-depth representations of reality.
Comment from Fadl Elsharief, the movie protagonist by email:
ReplyDelete"Nice and well professionally written ya Mustafa. I like your smooth approach in blogging."