Miraculous Accident

Forum Expanded 2025

Miraculous Accident is a transtemporal film that narrates the love story between Nadir, a Moroccan student at the Łódź Film School in 1968, his Jewish editing teacher Edyta, and their shared relationship with Jarek, Nadir’s best friend and Edyta’s protégé. Nadir is among a group of North African students sent to study communist filmmaking techniques as part of the Eastern Bloc’s support for anti-imperialist struggles. Despite her opposition to Zionism, Edyta is forced to leave Poland due to the political rift between Poland and Israel following the Six-Day War also known as An-Naksa, “The Setback.” In 2024, Nadir returns to the school to make a film after discovering a forgotten letter Edyta wrote to him from Haifa in 1989. The film mourns the cruelty of nations, birthing rare miracles – accidental loves – only to crush them before they breathe.
Partially inspired by the life of former Moroccan student, poet, and filmmaker Abdelkader Lagtaâ – who also plays Nadir in the film – Miraculous Accident weaves its plot through original footage and extracts from 1960s student films by Lagtaâ and his peers.

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by Assaf Gruber (Director, Screenplay)
with Abdelkader Lagtaâ, Marta Ojrzynska, Mateusz Górski, Dagmara Bąk Germany / Austria 2025 Polish, English 29' Colour & Black/White World premiere

With

Abdelkader Lagtaâ
Marta Ojrzynska
Mateusz Górski
Dagmara Bąk

Crew

Director	Assaf Gruber
Screenplay	Assaf Gruber
Cinematography	Simon Veroneg
Editing	Assaf Gruber
Music	ouroboros
Sound Design	Jochen Jezussek
Production Design	Maja Pawlikowska
Producer	Guillaume Cailleau
Executive Producer	Guillaume Cailleau

Produced by

CASKFILMS

steirischerherbst’24

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

Photos

Assaf Gruber

Assaf Gruber, born in Jerusalem, is an artist and filmmaker living and working in Berlin. His work circles around the tension between individuals and institutions. The absurd biographies of the protagonists in his projects simultaneously reveal and obscure the reasons and motives that lead people to obey or rebel against their inner world or the society in which they live. His films have been featured in festivals including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, FIDMarseille, and the Berlinale, among others. In 2016, his film The Right was presented at Forum Expanded.

Filmography

2015 The Right 2017 The Calling 2018 The Conspicuous Parts 2019 Daphne and Thomas 2021 Transinent Witness 2022 Rude Witness 2023 Never Come Back 2025 Miraculous Accident

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025