The Mother of All Lies
Special documentary in which Asmae El Moudir looks back with her family on the bread riots in 1981, a painful period in the history of her native country Morocco and her family.
At director Asmae El Moudir’s home, the past was hushed up and there were no photographs on the wall. In an attempt to unravel her family history, she builds a maquette of the neighbourhood in Casablanca where she grew up. In the meticulously recreated houses and streets, a forgotten history comes to life. She lets her family and neighbours recount what happened during and after the Bread Riots, an uprising brutally crushed by the government. The unnatural but intimate setting of the recreated neighbourhood and the filmmaker's questions force the protagonists to relive the events. This leads to painful memories, new insights and sometimes catharsis.
The film won the L'Œil d’or – the award for best documentary at the Cannes Film Festival – and was also the Moroccan Oscar entry.