True to the film’s title, director Karim Sayad’s poignant tale of the sheep “El Bouq” and his trainer and confidante, 16-year-old Habib, doesn’t shy away from the mirroring struggles of man and beast. Set in the Bab el Oued of Algiers in 2016, the documentary feature follows veterinarian-in-training Habib as he trains El Bouq to become a champion sheep fighter. In the meantime, the Eid celebration approaches, and 42-year-old Samir sees the upcoming festivities, particularly the tradition of the country’s slaughter of a prized sheep, as a potential money-maker. Perusing the prospects, he set his sights on El Bouq.
A look at growing up, man and beast, Of Sheep and Men is also the story of El Bouq, a rising champion whose only hope of escaping death may rest with the boy who loves him.
Director Biography
Of Sheep and Men (’17) will mark filmmaker Karim Sayad’s feature-directorial debut, having also produced the short film Babor Casanova (’15). Born in 1984, Lausanne, Sayad is a graduate of the Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Press
"Sayad builds a central metaphor of Algerians being treated like sheep by their apathetic government, but he doesn’t force it. He just lets us find our way to it between bouts." - Now Toronto
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