International Film Festival Of Marrakech
Official Competition 2003
Feature Film
by Goutam Ghose
(In the Forest Again)
Inde - 2003 - 2h03
In the 1960s, four young city slickers took a holiday excursion in the jungle of Palamu. Forty years later at the start of the 21st century, they are each at the height of a brilliant career. But they'd like to get away from civilisation for awhile. So off they head again, this time with respective spouses and kids in tow. Though idyllic at first, the trip takes a sour turn…
Au feu !
(Gori Votra)
by Pjer Zalica
Bosnie - 2003 - 1h45
Behind its smiling exterior, the little town of Tesnaj is rife with ethnic intolerance, prostitution and corruption. The upcoming arrival of Bill Clinton has the community abuzz with excitement: foreign visits mean foreign currency. But first Tesnaj must clean up its act. It has just one week to turn itself into the peaceful democratic haven it's supposed to be. With the help of international observers, the race against the clock begins.
Baboussia
by Lidia Bobrova
Russie, France - 2003 - 1h37
After a life of labour and self-sacrifice, 80-year-old Baboussia's health is failing. She goes to live with her daughter where she now hopes to find some help for herself. Her daughter, however, is gravely ill and soon dies, leaving the old woman to seek refuge with other relatives less than willing to take her in. She is shuffled from home to home.
Hysterical Blindness
USA - 2002 - 1h39
New Jersey, 1987. Thirty-something Debby is convinced she needs a man in her life to give it some meaning. In the evenings she hits the smoke-filled bars with her friend Beth, a single mom. Debby's determined her one-night-stand is a Prince Charming in disguise, and has trouble swallowing the fact her mother Virginia is in a happy relationship.
Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran
by François Dupeyron
France - 2003 - 1h34
At the age of 13, Momo is left to fend for himself. He has one friend, however - Mr Ibrahim, the Arab grocer in Rue Bleue, or 'Blue Street.' But appearances can be deceiving: Blue Street is not blue. The Arab is not Arabic. And life isn't necessarily unhappy.
(Abjad)
by Abolfazl Jalili
Iran, France - 2003 - 1h52
14-year-old Emka is drawn to art which his parents believe to be offensive in the eyes of God. Then young Maassoum and her family, who've bought the local movie theatre, move into the neighbourhood. As Emka falls for Maassoum, he also discovers a growing passion for the cinema. But revolution brings the religious factions into power. The movie house is burned and Maassoum and her family are forced to leave town. Emka heads off in search of them with his super 8 camera in hand.
Raja
by Jacques Doillon
France - 2002 - 1h52
Frederic, a disenchanted and narcissistic 40-year-old Frenchman, hires some young Moroccan women to replant the lawn of his luxurious home in Marrakech. One of them, the mischevious and troubling Raja, gets further under his skin than he'd like to admit. He knows only a few words in Arabic and she hardly understands any French. All he wants is a brief fling, but little by little, the young woman's reserve has him suffering the pangs of love. As for Raja, the uncertainty of Frederic's attention is less attractive than the security offered by Youssef, to whom she is drawn more out of survival instinct than love.
Le Soleil assassiné
by Abdelkrim Bahloul
Algeria, France, Belgium - 2002-2003 - 1h30
Poet Jean Senac, an Algerian-born Frenchman who decided to stay in Algeria after the independence, now finds himself - ten years later - under government surveillance. His radio programme, "Poetry on all Fronts," is widely popular among young people. Two students, Hamid and Belkacem, become close friends and help him in his fight for the culture and freedom of Algerian youth. Senac's combat turns him into a martyr.
Suite Habana
by Fernando Pérez
Cuba - 2003 - 1h20
From 6AM to midnight, a day in the life of the people of Havana. In the streets of the Cuban capital we meet a railway repairman, a young doctor who dreams of becoming an actor, a man who's emigrating to Florida to be with his sweetheart and a pensioner who sells peanuts to eke out a living.
The Station Agent
de Tom McCarthy
USA - 2003 - 1h39
All Finbar McBride wants is to be left alone. But at four foot five, it's not easy to get lost in the crowd. His response to the attention - not all of it kind - his height attracts is to simply withdraw. He pours all his energy into his job of selling toy trains in a shop, his one passion. When the manager of the shop dies, Finbar inherits an abandoned train station in New Jersey. He decides to take up residence there, but the presence of two neighbours interrupts his isolation.
Les Yeux secs
de Narjiss Nejjar
France, Maroc - 2003 - 2h
After 25 years of imprisonment, Mina, an old woman, is released from jail. A bus driver takes her back to her village in the Berber mountains where only women live. Once a year, these women await the arrival of the shepherds. But they can't enter in unless they pay. The old woman decides to free the community of its curse.
Zatoichi
by Takeshi Kitano
Japon - 2003 - 1h40
XIXth century, Japan. Zatoichi is a blind vagabond, though behind his humble appearance lies a fearsome combatant with a quick and accurate sword. While crossing the mountain he discovers a village under the domination of Ginzo's gang. No sooner do the henchmen run into Zatoichi than the inevitable confrontation begins.
SHORT FILM
Cendres
(Ramad)
By Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige
France, Liban - 2003 - 26min
Nabil returns to Beirut with the ashes of his father who died abroad. However, his family insists on keeping custom by burying a body which no longer exists. The absence of the cadaver alludes to the missing bodies of those who've disappeared - over 17,000 during the Lebanese war - and the hopeless mourning of their families who wallow in incertitude without a concrete trace of death.
De beste går først
(United We Stand / L'Union fait la force)
by Hans Petter Moland
Norvège - 2002 - 9min
Each year, a group of retired trade unionists get together for their traditional mountain trek. This time round, they're down to eight; the others have slipped into the beyond. En route, they encounter a beautiful young woman.
Haçla
(La Clôture / The Fence)
by Tariq Teguia
France - 2002 - 24min (Beta)
Filmed in their respective neighbourhoods from Bab-el-Oued in the west to Baïnem on the outskirts, the young people of Algiers talk about the helplessness and self-denial their existence implies. This film unfolds like a map, a topographical study of the dead ends and impasses of Algiers and of Algerian society.
L'Homme sans tête
by Juan Solanas
France - 2003 - 15min
The headless man is in his attic room preparing for a date. Tonight's the night he shall proclaim his love to his beloved. He's decided to buy himself a head for the occasion.
Hymne à la gazelle
by Stéphanie Duvivier
France - 2003 - 30min
It's her husband's turn to walk the dog tonight, but he refuses to budge from the sofa where he's watching the game. So Babeth gives in and goes herself. In the street, she's harrassed by a group of teens. She ducks into a café where Youssef offers her a drink. Though wary at first, she warms to him bit by bit.
Momo Mambo
by Laïla Marrakchi
France - 2003 - 7min
Mohammed, a taxi driver, is stuck in a traffic jam in Casablanca beneath the blazing sun. Suddenly a young woman appears on a street corner. He watches her until she disappears into a hairdresser's. Bewitched by her beauty, he follows her into the shop where normally only women are allowed.
Petite lumière
by Alain Gomis
France, Sénégal - 2003 - 15min
Dakar, Senegal. 8-year-old Fatima wonders if the light in the fridge stays on once the door is closed. She finds out it doesn't. So Fatima goes out in the street to see if people still exist when she shuts her eyes.
The Apple Tree
by Anja Birgmann, Kristoffer Karlsson Rus, Alexander Karim, Baker Karim
Suède - 2003 - 17min
Two brothers, Dembe and Magezi, have left Africa for Sweden. While Magezi is ready to integrate at all costs into their new country, learning the language and finding a job, Dembe escapes the reality of the Swedish cold by seeking refuge in memories of his childhood village.
