Talking About Trees
Four veteran Sudanese filmmakers attempt to reopen a cinema and rekindle a communal film culture amid resistance.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- meditative
- gentle
- poetic
- reflective afternoon
- film club viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's meditative observational style and its graceful portrait of cinephilia, friendship, and cultural perseverance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The four filmmakers work to reopen an old cinema and restore collective moviegoing in Sudan.
The director avoids directly interviewing the four filmmakers and builds the portrait through their conversations, projects, and daily encounters.
The Sudanese Film Club confronts resistance while trying to revive cinema-going and preserve Sudanese film history.
The filmmakers seek to return audiences to a shared cinema space rather than solitary screen viewing.
Films like Talking About Trees, and why
The Story of Film: An Odyssey
meditative documentary portrait of filmmakers, cinephilia, and the social meaning of cinema
Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures
warm observational documentary about collective film culture and endangered cinematic traditions
Filmworker
poetic cinema-on-cinema documentary centered on artistic perseverance and friendship
The Other Cinema
observational portrait of marginalized filmmakers sustaining a local film culture
Movie Details
- Director
- Suhaib Gasmelbari
- Release Date
- 2019-12-18
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (20)
Cast
- Ibrahim Shaddad
- Suliman Mohamed Ibrahim Elnour
- Eltayeb Mahdi
- Manar al Hilo
- Hana Abdelrahman Suliman
Common questions
- What is Talking About Trees about?
- Four veteran Sudanese filmmakers attempt to reopen a cinema and rekindle a communal film culture amid resistance.
- What is Talking About Trees like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Talking About Trees as measured, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Talking About Trees violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Talking About Trees.
- What did critics think of Talking About Trees?
- Critics broadly praised the film's meditative observational style and its graceful portrait of cinephilia, friendship, and cultural perseverance.
- Which films are like Talking About Trees?
- Films with a similar feel include The Story of Film: An Odyssey, Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures, Filmworker, and The Other Cinema.
- How long is Talking About Trees?
- Talking About Trees runs 94 minutes.
