BETTER
THAN EARTH
SHORT FILM | EGYPT - FRANCE | 2024
Using minimalist sets, the film conjures the girls' dormitory—a single location that embodies Sarah's story, the lone oppressed girl burdened by a closed society's judgments.
Director — Sherif Elbendary
Producer — Sherif Elbendary ; Martin Jerome
Cinematographer — Seif Al Deen Khaled
Production Designer — Lamis Souliman
The film was premiered at Clermont- Ferrand Film Festival — February l 2024;
received the Silver Tanit Award at Carthage Film Festival — Tunisia l 2024.
Visualizing The World of ‘Sarah’
The film takes place in one location: the girls' university dormitory. The set design treats this single site as a labyrinth space with one entrance and one exit, comprising several isolated rooms inhabited by expatriate girls, each lost in their inner worlds.
The entire space, both visually and conceptually, serves as a trap; under the rabbit hole.
Color
Palette
The film's color palette features desaturated, earthy tones and shades that emphasize the confined, repetitive nature of the space.
Additionally, the colors draw inspiration from the communal areas of residential complexes and shelters.
The girls’ dormitory features separate communal rooms across an unspecified number of floors, culminating in a distinct room for the forties female supervisor—all connected by long, minimalist corridors. The furnishings are sparse and uncoordinated, with every visual element evoking solitude and isolation.
FILM’S
DESIGN BOOK
Production Designer — Lamis Souliman
Art Assistants — Hamsa Mohamed; Dalia Emad
Prop Master — Mahmoud Taeema
