Ciné-ONU screening ’10 Days Before the Wedding’

On the 9th October 2019, Ciné-ONU screened ’10 Days Before the Wedding’ in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union (EU) at Flagey in Brussels.

The film is set in the aftermath of the 2015 Yemen war and is only the sixth Yemeni film produced since 2005. The screening coincided with a UNDP conference in Brussels for the release of the new report on the Impact of War in Yemen and how conflict is preventing Yemen from realising the SDG’s.

The event was organised as part of the EU-funded projects Enhanced Rural Resilience in Yemen (ERRY) and Social Protection for Community Resilience (SPCRP) in Yemen.

Deborah Seward, Director of UNRIC, introduced the event to the audience followed by introductory talks from Raffaella Iodice (Head of Unit, Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia, EU) and Auke Lootsma (UNDP Resident Representative in Yemen). There followed a short video message from the film-maker, Khadija Al-Salami.

Raffaella Iodice (Head of Unit, Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia, EU) commented that every 12 minutes a child in Yemen dies because of the war, adding that “the equivalent of the entire population of Belgium is starving in Yemen”.

Auke Lootsma (UNDP Resident Representative in Yemen) followed Raffaella with a stark reminder that “because of the war, many are facing a reality of poverty, unemployment, reduced salaries and an uncertain future”. He explained that “80 per cent of the country needs humanitarian assistance – that’s 24 million people who need food, protection, shelter, medicine and other basic needs”.

Ms Iodice and Mr Lootsma pointed out that Yemen is facing “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”; however, they remained optimistic for the future, saying that “Yemenis are extremely resilient. People continue to dream, hope and aspire to a brighter, healthier future - even in a world where there is so much uncertainty”.

The UNDP and EU report suggests that if war continues until 2030, Yemen will lose 40 years of development progress. The screening was one of several events organised to highlight the impact of the war in Yemen.

To see pictures from the evening, click here.
For more information about the film, click here.
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