This first feature film by Sofia Alaoui, which ingeniously mixes genres, between fantasy drama and survivalist thriller, took the audience on a captivating journey in the middle of a sumptuous setting and the great beauty of the Atlas Mountains.
During 91 minutes, the audience discovers the story of Itto, a young woman of modest means, who is married to Amine, the son of a wealthy local notable. She lives with her husband at her in-laws’ house during her pregnancy. One day, while she is alone in the family home, supernatural events occur throughout the country. Left to her own devices, Itto tries to join Amine in a neighboring town. Then begins a fantastic epic.
In a statement to MAP, FNM President Mehdi Qotbi stressed that “the museum is not only a place of painting and plastic arts but it is also a place for preserving memory and cinematographic heritage.”
Regarding the cultural program “Ciné-Musée”, Mr. Qotbi explained that it is a monthly cinematographic meeting which aims to pay tribute to the great names of Moroccan cinema, adding that the FNM is proud to collaborate in this sense with the director Sofia Alaoui who has won several international awards.
For her part, Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui indicated that the film “Animalia”, which follows the journey of a woman in a situation of supernatural catastrophe in the Atlas Mountains, is quite special, explaining that as a director adept at genre films, she wanted to present a different cinema in Morocco mixing several cinematographic genres.
Highly acclaimed by critics, “Animalia” distinguished itself at the prestigious Sundance Festival (United States) by winning the Special Jury Prize. It also won the Best Screenplay Award awarded by the Cinemania Film Festival (Montreal).
Produced in Morocco by Dounia Benjelloun (Dounia Productions) and Jiango Film, “Animalia” benefited from the support of the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM). In France, the film is produced by “Srab Films” and “Wrong Films”. The broadcasting rights for the film “Animalia” have already been acquired by several French channels.
Born in Casablanca, French-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui grew up between Morocco and China. She has made short documentary and fiction films that have been selected in numerous festivals.
2024-09-19 02:57:12