World’s first film in ancient Sumerian released by Trinity filmmakers

World’s first film in ancient Sumerian released by Trinity filmmakers

Posted on: 04 December 2025

The world’s first film shot entirely in the ancient Sumerian language is now available to audiences worldwide to view on YouTube.

Dumuzi's Dream and Dumuzi's Demons, performed by Trinity students entirely in the dead language of Sumerian, tells the story of how Dumuzi, a Sumerian shepherd god, repeatedly escapes from underworld demons, until they finally catch him for good.  

The short film is a dramatization of the 4,000-year-old mythological poem known today as Dumuzi’s Dream. The script of the film follows, word for word, the text of this poem, which is preserved on cuneiform clay tablets excavated in modern-day Iraq and housed in Museums all over the world.

The 20-minute film stars Trinity students Olivia Romao (4th year Music) and Gwenhwyfar Ferch Rhys (4th year English/Classics) and was directed and produced by Professor Martin Worthington (School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies).

The film is now freely available on YouTube with subtitles in 27 languages, including Irish, Arabic, Mandarin and Hungarian.

The film is available now on YouTube with subtitles in 27 languages 

“Sumerian was spoken in the south of ancient Iraq. It is probably the world’s first written language and died out around 2000 BCE. However, the ancient Babylonians kept it alive as a learned and liturgical language, just as today many people do with Latin,” explains Professor Worthington.

Eighteen students participated in the production, some as part of their formal studies, and others just for fun–which involved speaking a language from 4000 years ago, donning exciting costumes, and a lot of running around in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

Gwenhwyfar Ferch Rhys, who played Dumuzi, said: “Viewers don’t need to feel too sorry for Dumuzi being led to the underworld. There is another Sumerian story where he gets to escape for part of every year—we might do that one next time!  And people interested in the history of religion may be interested to learn that Sumerian culture included a god who died and came back to life.”

Olivia Romao, who as well as studying Music in Trinity is also a professional actress, said: “Playing Dumuzi’s sister Ĝeštinana had me reflect on feminine power in ancient Sumer. Her key role in the Dumuzi story is an invitation to see feminine leadership historically as a soft and transformative form of power–a theme all the more important at a time when women’s rights worldwide are increasingly under threat.”

RTÉ interviews students and staff and films some of the Library's Sumerian clay tablets

Prof. Worthington, who acted as narrator, added: “To be able to access, via ancient Sumerian, some of the oldest recorded stories in the world is a huge opportunity to reflect on a different world but also on ourselves. Many viewers will find the Dumuzi story gripping and relatable. In making it widely accessible in film form we are both giving a voice to a long-forgotten people, and fostering human curiosity.”

The film was funded by Trinity College Dublin, the Philological Society, the CAENO Foundation, the Thriplow Charitable Trust, and the European Research Council (in connection with the project ‘Mesopotamian Orality and the Anthropology of Writing’, of which Dr Worthington is the principal investigator). Filming was done by Cinetext films. Video Editing and VFX Artistry was provided by Taichuan Tang. Costumes were supplied by the Abbey Theatre and the Samuel Beckett Theatre.

Filming in action in Trinity's Arts Building. Image: Shauna Rachael McGeoghan. 

Translation of the subtitles are thanks to collaboration with a wide network of individuals and institutions, including Tbilisi State University, the Council for British Research in the Levant (Amman Branch), and Seminari Theoloji Malaysia and Trinity’s Irish Department. Original score was composed by Rose Sherezade and Olivia Romao.

Watch the film on YouTube.