Ibrahim, Suleiman, Manar and Altayeb are founding members of the ‘Sudanese Film Group’. Friends for over four decades, but after years apart due to exile, the quartet of filmmakers are reunited and rekindle their dream of bringing cinema to the masses in their home country of Sudan. From the rubble of their wounded nation’s film industry, and using whatever materials are on hand, the four intrepid friends attempt to restore their country’s cultural history through the power of film.

‘Talking About Trees’ is a genuine labour of love, both for the director Gasmelbari, who clearly has great admiration for the four directors, and also for his subjects whose infectious enthusiasm for cinema is a joy to behold. Inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s quote—“What kind of times are these, when to talk about trees is almost a crime because it implies silence about so many horrors?”—the film is a poignant and thoughtful look at artists forced to come to terms with the fact that their life’s passion for cinema can no longer be expressed or enjoyed where they live.