Karlovy Vary (Variety)

“The Burdened,” a movie directed by the [South Yemeni] director Amr Gamal, won the Works in Progress Post-Production Development Award in Eastern Promises, the industry section of the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival on Tuesday. 

The story, written by Gamal and Mazen Refaat, centers on Ahmed, Isra’a and their three children in Aden, [South Yemen] in 2019. Both parents lose their jobs and suffer from the economic crisis. The movie starts with Isra’a finding out about her pregnancy at a time when they cannot cover the expenses of a new child, leading them to make difficult decisions in order to survive.

The jury said it was “impressed by the director’s brave approach to tackling this sensitive subject against all odds.”

It is produced by Mohsen Alkhalifi, Gamal, Amjad Abu Alala and the Sudanese producer Mohammed Alomda.

Hugo Rosák, the head of the KVIFF Film Industry Office, said: “This year brought us back to live pitching sessions after two pandemic years, and we were delighted to see the return of both our industry audience and the well-prepared creative teams to a true brick-and-mortar cinema.”

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe's leading film event.