Great news! Our film “Forty Days Road,” directed by our colleague Ali Ziani, has been selected as the winner in the category “Documentary” at the 5th Return International Film & Art Festival in Weimar. We are so happy and proud of this award, and it is a great honor to see that the story of the camels has reached so many people and been so well received. We would like to thank the jury for recognizing our work and the entire festival team for making this wonderful event possible. You all made us feel very welcome! Please read here the moving laudation by Christian Kahrmann, jury member and actor:
Sometimes we come across a film that doesn’t simply let us watch, but forces us to truly see. “Forty Days Road” is exactly such a film. It is a journey – a confrontation – and ultimately a call for personal reflection. In Egypt, Ali Ziani and his colleague Ian Shersby follow the path of the camels from the Sudanese border to the market in Birqash. What they show is not an exotic adventure, but the harsh reality of an animal transport taking place under breath-takingly cruel conditions. Director Ali Ziani, originally from Morocco, now lives in Spain and has been working for years as an investigator and activist for the organization Animals’ Angels. He knows what he films – he has seen it, smelled it, felt it. And that is precisely why this film feels so authentic and immediate. Ali Ziani observes; he does not accuse. His camera remains calm, respectful – and precisely because of that, it cuts deep. “Forty Days Road” not only shows the suffering of the animals, but also the responsibility we all share. In a world where animal welfare is often seen as a luxury, this film reminds us that compassion is not a Western privilege, but a universal attitude.
Dear Ali, with this film you have forced us to look. Your film leaves no one untouched – at times it is almost unbearable to watch. For that – and for your courage to make this truth visible – “Forty Days Road” truly deserves the highest recognition and, in our view, this award.
