By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Sofia Alaoui
Starring: Fouad Oughaou | Mehdi Dehbi | Oumaima Barid | Rajaa Essaaidi | Souad Khouyi
Year: 2024
Running time: 90
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17006040/reference/
Laks says: “Science fiction about extraterrestrial encounters often feel exclusively produced within US and UK cinema. A foray into the genre from a Moroccan writer and director immediately got my attention. The film opens within a opulent palatial mansion as it gradually drew focus on the protagonists warm and friendly friendship with the servants but her crudeness is blatant in her day to day chores, to the annoyance but accepting, aristocratic family that she has married into. Already the audience is primed that this is not just about an extraterrestrial encounter but also an attempt to comment on Moroccan societal and religious life. While it would appear that there are clear influences from other stories, Sofia gives us a new direction on extraterrestrial encounters, one that may not even be terrestrial for that matter. An encounter that undoubtedly would paralyse one with terror, the film pushes us ahead to the possibilities of cosmic wonder. If all of the above doesn’t do it for you, then watch it for the enormous Moroccan desert landscapes. 4 cats”
“Screened at the Independent Film Festival Boston 2024”