Ali Cherri

ife emerged from mud—from the first creatures that evolved to live on the land, to the ancient mythologies of humans created from clay. For Beirut-born, Paris-based artist Ali Cherri, these origin stories intersect with contemporary (2022), which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival 2022 Directors’ Fortnight (5/18–27). The third in a trilogy examining what Cherri calls “the geography of violence,” centers around a brick-maker, Maher, working in Northern Sudan in the region of the hydroelectric Merowe Dam. After work, Maher steals away to work on his own massive construction: a giant mud monster. While the Sudanese people are rising up to overthrow the dictatorship of Omar Al-Bashir, the hollow-eyed creature comes to life, until the military cracks down on the popular protests and seizes power, and the monster is destroyed. The allegorical film was shown at more than 20 festivals and venues around the world, including the New York Film Festival (9/20–10/2), Tate Modern in London (10/8), and the Tokyo Filmex 2022 (10/29–11/6), where it won a Special Mention Award.