Amaal Said
Open Country (2025)

The Open Road: Online Screening
 

We are thrilled to be presenting Amaal Said' newly developed film Open Country online for a limited time as part of The Open Road.

Amaal Said's film Open Country follows a Somali mother and daughter who set out from their London home along the Old Kent Road, tracing the Pilgrims' Way into Bexley, North Kent, and beyond. The daughter plans to record an audio cassette diary for her grandmother, who is back home in Somalia and in ill health. Hoping to ease her mother’s worries and lift her spirits, she uses the journey as a way to bring joy and to help her focus on the road ahead. Inspired by a longing to connect with family abroad, the film explores the tension between being present in the here and now and yearning for another place. A number of sequences were filmed at the Red House, a National Trust property in Bexley originally built for the artist William Morris, in addition to locations in Canterbury and the Kent coast.

Commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella, The Amelia Scott, Cement Fields, FLAMIN, Forma, and Three Rivers, The Open Road reimagines the timeless tale of a journey taken. Loosely inspired by The Canterbury Tales, each film charts a distinct path, drawing on various storytelling traditions to explore ideas of migration and belonging, untold histories, and the deep connections between humans and the more-than-human world.

Let us know what you think of the works commissioned for The Open Road by filling in our audience survey HERE.

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Commissioned for The Open Road by Film and Video Umbrella, Forma and Three Rivers. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.