Doha Film Institute
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'Concrete Land' is an intimate look at the lives of a nomadic Bedouin family in its struggle to hold on to their traditional life under the pressures of urbanisation. Their only wish as a family is to stay together, with their loyal yet eccentric pet sheep Badrya firmly by their side.
Al-Najar is a Bedouin family of three generations living in makeshift tents in one of Amman’s suburbs on land they don’t own. They have lived as Bedouins with their different animals on that land for the past 21 years. In recent years, the area transformed into a high-class neighbourhood. Their quiet Bedouin life is turned upside down when construction starts to creep up on them. Their new neighbours are focused on kicking them out of the area in order to “clean up” the neighbourhood. When one neighbour files a complaint against the family with the local government, the threat becomes a reality, and the family is forced to make a choice. To continue to be Bedouins and find a new land to occupy; or abandon their lifestyle and move to the city. The family is in a dire situation, they have conflicting inner desires, and as the tension between them and their new neighbour rises—Awad realizes the only way to resolve this tension is to relocate their tents.

Credits

Director
Asmahan Bkerat
Producer
Sahar Yousefi

About the Director

Asmahan Bkerat
Asmahan Bkerat is a Palestinian-Jordanian documentary filmmaker based in Amman. Her love for cinema has led her to work in various roles on films of different scales, before setting on the path of documentary film. Bkerat has worked on international promos for the UEFA, as well as the upcoming German feature documentary 'Waterproof' (2019). She has also worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as Dis