Films A - Z

Sleeping Child, The

Belgium / Morocco
2004, 95min.

Script/Dir.: Yasmine Kassari, Dir. of Phot.: Yorgos Arvanitis, Compos.: Armand Amar, gusan Achot, Sound: Madone Charpail, Henri Morelle, Edit.: Susana Rossberg, Prod.: Jean-Jacques Andrien.
Cast: Mounia Osfour, Rachida Brakni, Nermine Elhaggar, Fatna Abdessamie, Khamsa Abdessamie.

In an isolated village in south Morocco, Zeinab's wedding is being celebrated. The next day all the men leave the village to look for a better future in Europe. When she discovers she is pregnant, the young wife decides to put the child to sleep, (a social practice widespread in the rural world of Maghreb today, it is said that a foetus can survive in its mother's womb for years), that he may be born only when her husband returns. But time goes by and her husband does not come back. Yasmine Kassari depicts the women's dead-end situation, their expectations and their hopes.

Awards
International Art and Essay Confederation (CICAE) award for the “European Best Film” distinction, (Venice, 2004); The public prize (19th IFF Namur, Belgium, 2004); Special distinction of the jury (8th festival of Mediterranean cinema, Brussels); Public and best actor prizes (17th one-week European film festival of Angers, France); Special Jury Award (Fribourg IFF, Suisse, 2005); Silver Astor (IFF Mar del Plata, Argentina); Vesuvio Award (7th IFF Napoli, Italy); Best Feature Film (13th IFF Barcelona, Spain); The Parajanov prize (Tbilisi IFF, Georgia); The First Prize (12th International Women's Film Festival, Torino, Italy); The First Prize (8th National Film Festival, Tanger, Morocco).