Cinema
The Embers
الجمرة
Farida Bourquia · 1982
Synopsis
In a mountain village, a man is accused of having raped and killed a young neighbour; the villagers lynch him, and his wife dies shortly afterwards in tragic circumstances. Their three children, Ali, Maryem and Brahim, persecuted, live in hiding on the outskirts of the village and look for the real perpetrator of the crime of which their father was wrongly accused. According to the Berkeley programme, the film stages a traditional tale, which the village has over time made part of its memory, and focuses on the villagers' dubious conduct.
Context
The first feature film by its director, the film was produced by her together with Mohammed Ismail, from a screenplay by Mahmoud Migri; Houcine El Khattabi was responsible for the cinematography, Larbi Ben Zouina for the editing and Abdelghani Al Yousfi for the music. The cast brought together Hamid Zoughi, Rachida Machnouaa, Mustapha Dassoukine and Mustapha Zaari. The Berkeley film archive says it was shot on the edge of the Sahara, and Michael Webb, of the American Film Institute, praised its mastery of storytelling and its poetic sense of rural tradition.
Who it is for
A 104-minute dramatic feature film, shot on location; no video copy is known.
Prizes and reception
One of only two feature films shot in Morocco by women in the eighties, according to Oliver Leaman.