A still from “Captains of Zaatari” by Ali El Arabi, an official selection of the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
By Lucy Spicer
At Sundance Institute, we’re proud to support innovative storytelling that pushes the boundaries of filmmaking as we know it to bring new perspectives to the forefront of cinema. In April 2015, a unique, acerbic, and thought-provoking Sundance Institute–supported film that embodies that creative spirit received a limited theatrical release. Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, Le Challat de Tunis blends fiction and nonfiction in a mockumentary based on a real crime spree that made headlines in the early 2000s. The film’s genre-defying format translates to a viewing experience that is both darkly comic and full of real commentary on patriarchal society in Tunisia.
As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of Le Challat de Tunis’s stateside release, we’re looking back at other Institute-supported films by directors from North Africa as well as the region’s diaspora. Below, discover riveting nonfiction projects about a Moroccan filmmaker’s buried past, soccer-obsessed teenagers growing up in a refugee camp, and an Egyptian documentarian’s deep dive into the corruption present in Cairo’s police force. On the fiction side are two award winners that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival — a sci-fi feature about a pregnant woman navigating an extraterrestrial event and a coming-of-age drama following two brothers caught up in gang life in London.
Animalia — 2023 Sundance Film Festival
In writer-director Sofia Alaoui’s feature debut, pregnant Itto (Oumaïma Barid) finds herself alone in her opulent house in Morocco when an extraterrestrial event throws her world into chaos after her husband has left for a business trip. As Itto tries to reunite with her husband while much of the population scrambles to places of worship, she begins to question the cultural and societal structures around which most people have built their lives. Animalia premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Creative Vision. Check here for viewing options.
Le Challat de Tunis — Supported by the 2010 Sundance Institute – Arab Fund for Arts and Culture
Blurring the line between fact and fiction, Le Challat de Tunis stars writer-director Kaouther Ben Hania as a version of herself, a young filmmaker interviewing various individuals in post-revolution Tunisia about the “challat” — a man who roamed the streets of Tunis on his motorbike using a straight razor to slash the buttocks of women he deemed immodest as he rode by. It’s been 10 years since the challat’s violent spree, but did authorities ever catch the perpetrator? Ben Hania’s interviewees have lots of differing theories. Check here for viewing options.
My Brother the Devil — 2012 Sundance Film Festival; supported by Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program
In East London, teenage Rashid (James Krishna Floyd) deals drugs for a gang so that he can make enough money to provide for his family. His younger brother, Mo (Fady Elsayed), looks up to the charismatic Rash and attempts to live up to his brother’s reputation by joining the gang as well. But just as Mo seeks to prove himself worthy, Rash starts spending more time with a new acquaintance and less time with the gang. An inevitable confrontation reveals what both brothers have been hiding and what they value most. Writer-director Sally El Hosaini’s debut feature won the World Cinema Cinematography Award: Dramatic at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Check here for viewing options.
Captains of Zaatari — 2021 Sundance Film Festival
Filmed over six years, Ali El Arabi’s directorial debut follows best friends Fawzi and Mahmoud as they spend their teenage years playing soccer and dreaming of the opportunities that exist beyond the walls of Zaatari. Located in Jordan, Zaatari is the world’s largest camp for Syrian refugees — and where Fawzi and Mahmoud have lived for the past few years. With their legal status hanging in the balance, the boys’ hopes may hinge on a visit from prestigious scouts from a famous sports academy. Check here for viewing options.
The Mother of All Lies — 2024 Sundance Film Festival
Spurred by a lack of family photos, filmmaker Asmae El Moudir re-creates her childhood in Casablanca by crafting handmade figurines and models. Along with oral accounts, the miniature models help the director to unearth a family history from Morocco’s Years of Lead that El Moudir’s grandmother is determined to bury. The Mother of All Lies premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where El Moudir won the Un Certain Regard Best Director award. The film then screened in the Spotlight section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Check here for viewing options.
Whose Country? — Supported by Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program
Mohamed Siam’s directorial debut documents the Egyptian filmmaker’s experiences of interviewing plainclothes Cairo policemen in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. As he gains more insight into the widespread corruption that permeated the police force, Siam observes the ripple effects of injustice throughout society while he comes to terms with questions of morality surrounding memories of his father, who was a criminal investigator. Check here for viewing options.
