Beats of the Antonov

Screenings

2015 Season
London, New York, Toronto

Over two years, Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka lived alongside farmers, herders, and rebels displaced to the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountain regions, filming their lives within hillside hide-outs and refugee camps. Destructive air-raids are but occasional moments in an unexpected film, which instead focuses on the vibrant musical heritage of the region: a pulsing lifeblood of cultural resilience in the face of everyday conflict. After a raid, it is not unusual to hear the sound of laughter and music signalling that a strike is over. Young women exert a powerful agency through 'Girls Music', and improvised compositions become a wry commentary on the daily injustices of war. Beats of The Antonov is a celebration of defiant cultural expression and a unique perspective on the complex realities of a divided Sudan. Winner People's Choice Award, Toronto International Film Festival 2014
Beats of the Antonov has its national broadcast premiere on Monday, August 3, 2015 at 10 p.m. on the POV (Point of View) documentary series on PBS (check local listings).

Filmmaker(s): 
Hajooj Kuka
Country of Production: 
Sudan/South Africa
Year: 
2014
68m
Language(s): 
In Arabic with English subtitles
Genre: 
Documentary
Filmmaker Bio(s): 
Hajooj Kuka
Director

Hajooj Kuka is a filmmaker from Sudan, currently based between Nairobi, Kenya and Nuba Mountains, Sudan. He is the creative director of 3ayin.com, a website that works with local reporters aimed at bringing the news of the war through short documentaries, to the Sudanese people. Hajooj is a regular contributor to nubareports.org. His previous work includes the 2009 documentary, Darfur’s Skeleton (52 min), which explores the conflict in Sudan’s troubled region since 2003. 

Distributor: 
Big World Cinema
Additional Media: 

HRW Film Festival - Beats of The Antonov Q&A, NY 2015

In June 2011, weeks before South Sudan gained independence from Sudan, a new war broke out in Sudan's Southern Kordofan state and quickly spread to Blue Nile. This protracted conflict, already in its fourth year, has had dire consequences for the civilian populations in both states. The on-going fighting, attacks on villages, and Sudan's indiscriminate aerial bombing in the rebel-held areas have killed and maimed men, women, and children, destroyed schools and clinics, burned fields and crops, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their land. Sudan has refused access to international aid groups to government and rebel-held areas, where communities lack basic services and protection from the fighting.

Sudan: Bombing Takes Heavy Toll on Children

To learn more on this topic visit HRW.org