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Jahilya

Forum 2018
© La Prod, Jahylia
When cockroaches dream, they dream of dying a natural death – instead of being squashed by human hand. This prologue forms a leitmotif that runs through the entire third part of Hicham Lasri’s “Trilogy of the Dog”. The film’s frequently hyper-realistic sequences describe the current state of the violent emotional dynamics governing contemporary Morocco: those between men and women, parents and children, the powerful and the disenfranchised. Moments of human humiliation link together the fates of six characters, located in a luxury country estate, an urban environment, and a quarry, respectively: the rape of a young woman; a suicidal man caught up in medieval fantasies; an unmarried daughter’s pregnancy, her blind father only concerned about the racial purity of his family; a bigoted judge; a little boy desperately demanding mutton for a sacrificial feast banned by the king; and the shoe that hit George W. Bush on the head in Iraq.
Lasri’s images carry the dynamics and power of a nightmare at once concrete and symbolic, straightforward and enigmatic, topical and timeless.
by Hicham Lasri
with Mostapha Houari, Salma Eddlimi, Hassan Ben Badida, Rami Fijjaj, Zoubir Abou Al Fadl, Moulay Hassan Alaoui, Malek Akhmiss, Zoubida Akif, Nissrine Erradi, Jalal Bouftaim, Youssef Lemrabet Morocco / France 2018 Arabic 94’ Colour

With

  • Mostapha Houari (Lotfi)
  • Salma Eddlimi (Rita)
  • Hassan Ben Badida (Ali)
  • Rami Fijjaj (Yaya)
  • Zoubir Abou Al Fadl (Ali’s Son)
  • Moulay Hassan Alaoui (Lotfi’s Father)
  • Malek Akhmiss (Mr. Jolnir)
  • Zoubida Akif (Maid)
  • Nissrine Erradi (Fati)
  • Jalal Bouftaim (Chauffeur)
  • Youssef Lemrabet (Haj Kabir)

Crew

Written and Directed by Hicham Lasri
Cinematography Said Slimani
Editing Zakaria Tibari
Music Wissam Hojeij
Sound Design Patrice Mendez
Sound Anas Hamouch
Production Design Hicham Lasri
Producers Lamia Chraïbi LaProd & Moon a Deal Films, Michel Merkt

Produced by

LaProd

Moon a Deal Films

Hicham Lasri

Born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1977. He studied law before making a name for himself as a playwright, novelist and screenwriter. In 2011, he made his debut feature, The End, about the last days of Morocco’s King Hassan II.

Filmography

2005 Jardin des Rides; 13 min. 2010 Android; 8 min. 2011 The End; 105 min. 2013 C’est eux les chiens (They Are the Dogs); 85 min. 2014 Al bahr min ouaraikoum (The Sea is Behind); 88 min., Panorama 2015 2015 Starve Your Dog; 94 min., Panorama 2016 2017 Headbang Lullaby; 90 min., Panorama 2017 2018 Jahilya

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018