DAKHLA: CINEMA AND OBLIVION

The rocky desert in southwestern Algeria is the temporary home of about 150,000 refugees from Western Sahara. Goats grazing or the opening of a beauty salon are among the many scenes of everyday life of people who are eagerly awaiting the beginning of the film festival. The observational documentary captures the unwavering love of film in a place that the world has forgotten.

 

 

Arturo Dueñas (1962) studied Spanish philology and film at the University of Valladolid and took film courses at the New York Film Academy. Many of his films have been screened at foreign festivals, including Amateurs (2011) and Built Lands (2019). He dealt with Western Sahara in the film Mission: Sahara (2016).