3 to see at LFF: films from the Middle East and North Africa

Strange, unexplained phenomena have started to occur which might suggest the end of the world. But, meanwhile, heavily pregnant Itto is seeking to reunite with her husband and his family. On a road trip to rejoin them, she meets people from communities who’ve been left behind, blaming the greediness of the Moroccan elite.

Animalia is French-Moroccan writer-director Sofia Alaoui’s first feature. Her short film So What if the Goat Dies? (2020) won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and explored similar themes involving familiarity crumbling after a mysterious event. It employed non-professional actors who spoke the Berber language Tamazight throughout.

With an eat-the-rich narrative, and dystopian end of the world sci-fi playing out in the background, Animalia is a film filled with metaphors and poetry. An uneasiness lurks as Alaoui pushes our comfort level to depict what survival may look like to different people. Amid the stickiness of a hot summer night before a storm, Itto meets people whose belief in God ranges from devout to resentful. The film explores religion, money and class in Morocco, and the corruption that ensues when these elements come together.

Monos (2019), Annihilation (2018), Under the Shadow (2016)

In the company of her mother, renowned actor Hiam Abbass, director Lina Soualem journeys back to their old family home in Tiberias, Palestine to visit the extended family who remained. Together, the women share a story of resilience, exile, connection and ancestry. 

French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker Lina Soualem’s first feature doc Their Algeria (2020) followed her paternal grandparent’s story as immigrants now living in France, examining their decision to separate after 62 years together. Much like Bye Bye Tiberias, it explored memory, family and exile, and was selected for Visions du Réel International Film Festival 2020. 

Incorporating letters, archive footage and new interviews, Bye Bye Tiberias delves into stories that Soualem’s mother left behind when she opted to live a life in exile. In doing so, it hits upon some honest and intense truths, which neither Abbass, Soualem nor their family shy away from. It’s only now she has returned that the heaviness of Abbass’s departure becomes evident, but so too does the actor’s charismatic star power. 

The films of Elia Suleiman, Annemarie Jacir or Najwa Najjar.

Two years after the international success of Costa Brava, Lebanon (LFF, 2021), this documentary dives into the circumstances behind the making of Mounia Akl’s drama, which was interrupted by a massive explosion in the port of Beirut. The cast and crew share their thoughts about the curses, evil eyes and general bad luck affecting the set. 

Lebanese director and screenwriter Cyril Aris was the editor on Costa Brava, Lebanon. His debut feature documentary, The Swing (2018), chronicled drama within his own family, centring on his ageing grandparents.

Both a tense account of the making of a film and a portrait of a nation being let down by its government, Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano gives us intimate access to the thoughts and frustrations of a crew who refuse to give up. The film’s shaky, on-the-ground footage give Aris’s film a sense of urgency and immediacy, as the production team strive for completion against all the odds.

Mistaken for Strangers (2013), Generation Revolution (2016), Mind the Gap (2004), Costa Brava, Lebanon (2021)