Sadu: A Documentary of a Dying Art

  • American artist and weaving expert Lesli Robertson visits Sadu House.

  • Turkish artist Ceyda Oskay explains how traditional weaving methods and symbols have helped to inform and develop her work.

  • Initial weave sketch developed by artist Amani Al-Thuwaini.

  • "Dazza"—a contemporary weave made from fabric, cowhide, and plexiglass, produced by artist Amani Al-Thuwaini.

  • A woman uses a digital design to handweave a carpet in a rural village in Turkey.

  • Floor seating arrangement integrating traditional sadu symbols and style by artist Muneera Al-Sharhan

(Unreleased – official name pending)
Director: Shakir Abal
Screenplay and Creative Direction: Abdullah Al-Awadhi
Research and Creative Production: Wujdan Creative Community
2016

Across Syria, Turkey, Iran, Bahrain, and Kuwait, rural women are known for their gliding
fingers— spinning and splitting yarns against wooden looms in agility and grace.
Before the weaving begins, women comb freshly sheared wool into fine thread, later
dying it with herbs and paints to make rich shades of red, orange, purple, black, and
brown. The women then attach the thread to the looms and get to work.
Weaving is both an individual and group activity— as it occurs during this time that
young girls are initiated into the craft, lending a helping hand to mothers and older
sisters. Together, women weave tent homes, carpets, blankets, pillows, furniture, and
howdahs, as well as many more essentials for everyday life.

Since the advent of modernity however, this traditional practice has been threatened
with extinction. The documentary explores some of the ingenious ways weavers from
different backgrounds have attempted to modernize the tradition and maintain its
relevance in the 21st Century.