Sharq by Erik Sandoval
Kuwait
23 min | 2008
The online presentation of films from „Arab Shorts 2009” on this site ended by 31 December 2011.
Sharq opens in the desert outside of Kuwait City with a group of rowdy young boys playing football. When the ball is damaged, the boys decide to go on an escapade to find a new ball: a mission in search of the legendary Sharq Street. An adventure ensues when the car they steal breaks down midway.
While hitchhiking the rest of the way, they are picked up by a trucker and a conversation begins about the role of the US in Kuwait. An argument results and the boys are kicked out of the car.
They manage to make their way to a mall where they get lost in a maze of the globalized economy, a sea of products. When they finally find the ball they had been looking for, they are faced with an American salesman who doesn’t speak Arabic and the words of the truck driver start to reverberate in their minds.
About the Filmmaker
Erik Sandoval is the director, producer, co-writer and editor of Sharq. Born in California, USA to Mexican immigrants Jesus and Benita Sandoval, Erik attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he studied screenwriting and history. It was there that Erik met Abdulaziz Alsharhan and Fahad Bishara, with whom he collaborated to write Sharq. Most recently, Erik was a finalist for the 2008 Shasha Screenwriting Grant for his feature script Jose. Currently, Erik writes, directs and edits for the popular comedy website 5secondfilms.com .
Erik Sandoval is the director, producer, co-writer and editor of Sharq. Born in California, USA to Mexican immigrants Jesus and Benita Sandoval, Erik attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he studied screenwriting and history. It was there that Erik met Abdulaziz Alsharhan and Fahad Bishara, with whom he collaborated to write Sharq. Most recently, Erik was a finalist for the 2008 Shasha Screenwriting Grant for his feature script Jose. Currently, Erik writes, directs and edits for the popular comedy website 5secondfilms.com .
