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ARCHIVE

8th(2006)



Women from the Médina / El Batalett

Dalila Ennadre

  • France, Morocco
  • 2001
  • 60min
  • Beta
  • color

SYNOPSIS

Shot in Casablanca, Morocco, this documentary captures women¡¯s ordinary lives in the alleyways and apartments of old medina, not magnificent palaces or Ingrid Berman¡¯s fancy cafe in Casablanca. Devoting their entire lives to taking care of their families by cooking and cleaning, these housewives have a dream: getting a washing machine. They help each other, take a bath together, go to the market together, and watch TV at dinner together in this community of Moroccan housewives.
 Influenced by her own mother who insisted on giving birth in Morocco though she was living in France at that time, Ennadre¡¯s eyes are always turned toward Moroccan women. Through her extensive contact and camraderie with the women, the director¡¯s sincere, affectionate perspective toward them shines in every moment of the film. The housewives acknowledge that women¡¯s rights are closely related to men¡¯s and attend demonstrations for women¡¯s rights, worried about being excluded by other intelligent women. Living in reality can be easily neglected. This documentary makes plain that these housewives are true feminist activists, raising and discussing women¡¯s matters in everyday life, rather than staying just in the realm of knowledge. (Billy Choi)

PROGRAM NOTE

Shot in Casablanca, Morocco, this documentary captures women¡¯s ordinary lives in the alleyways and apartments of old medina, not magnificent palaces or Ingrid Berman¡¯s fancy cafe in Casablanca. Devoting their entire lives to taking care of their families by cooking and cleaning, these housewives have a dream: getting a washing machine. They help each other, take a bath together, go to the market together, and watch TV at dinner together in this community of Moroccan housewives.
 Influenced by her own mother who insisted on giving birth in Morocco though she was living in France at that time, Ennadre¡¯s eyes are always turned toward Moroccan women. Through her extensive contact and camraderie with the women, the director¡¯s sincere, affectionate perspective toward them shines in every moment of the film. The housewives acknowledge that women¡¯s rights are closely related to men¡¯s and attend demonstrations for women¡¯s rights, worried about being excluded by other intelligent women. Living in reality can be easily neglected. This documentary makes plain that these housewives are true feminist activists, raising and discussing women¡¯s matters in everyday life, rather than staying just in the realm of knowledge. (Billy Choi)

Director

  • Dalila EnnadreDalila Ennadre

    Born in 1966 in Casablanca, Dalia Ennadre grew up in France. She has also been living in various countries, working on the production of TV series or at film institutions. She made her first documentary film Par la Grace d¡¯Allah (1987), followed by Idoles dans l¡¯Ombre (1992). Women from the Médina, her most recent production, has been screened in many Festivals around the world and received, amongst others, the Media Nord/Sud Award at the Geneva Festival, the Special Jury Mention at Nyon and Montpellier Festivals and the Grand Prix for the Documentary Section at Clermont-Ferrand Festival. Dalila Ennadre is one of the most prominent representatives of the new generation of Moroccan women film makers.

Credit

  • ProducerSamir Abdallah
  • Screenwriter Dalila Ennadre
  • Cinematography Dalila Ennadre
  • Editor Barbara Pueyo