Al bahr min ouaraikoum

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Tarik is unable to shed a tear about the loss of his children, or that his life is in ruins. Instead he shrouds his moustache under a veil and sways his hips to the music as the procession moves down the street. Tarik is a H’Dya, a traditional dancer who appears in women’s clothes. Tarik’s father, who leads the parade down the empty Moroccan streets, bawls his eyes out when his beloved cart horse Larbi refuses to go on, and combs his mane lovingly with his dentures. Tarik’s ex-wife’s bruiser of a partner installs himself in Tarik’s toilet. And Tarik’s friend Murad is threatened and insulted on account of his homosexuality. Was there really something in the water, as everyone claims? Or is it all in Tarik’s mind?In his third feature film, Hicham Lasri tells us, in surreally beautiful black and white images, about traditions and trance, intolerance and violence, friendship and flesh and blood. And about animal love – albeit possibly inappropriate. Aided by raucous Moroccan rock music, Lasri composes a David Lynch-like state of intoxication to produce a truly modern Maghrebi cinematic experience.

details

  • Runtime

    88 min
  • Country

    Morocco
  • Year of Presentation

    2015
  • Year of Production

    2014
  • Director

    Hicham Lasri
  • Cast

    Malek Akhmiss, Yassine Sekkal, Mohammed Aouragh, Hassan Badida, Adil Lasri, Fairouz Amiri, Najat Khairallah, Hanane Zouhdi, Zineb Smaiki
  • Production Company

    LA PROD
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

Biography Hicham Lasri

Born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1977, he studied economy and law and then wrote theatre plays, novels and screenplays before turning to directing. In 2012 he made his debut lm with THE END, about the last days of King Hassan, which was critically acclaimed. In THEY ARE THE DOGS (2013) he drew parallels between the Arab Spring of 2011 and the ‘bread revolts’ in Morocco in 1981. The work
on this lm, produced by noted Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch, was supported by the ACID programme at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Filmography Hicham Lasri

2011 The End | 2013 C'est eux les chiens (They Are the Dogs) | 2018 Jahilya