Rabat— The Moroccan documentary “(Y)our Mother,” directed by Samira El Mouzghibati, won Best Arab Feature Documentary at the 6th Amman International Film Festival running from July 4 to 11.
The autobiography centers around family trauma, allowing El Mouzghibati to explore her painful past with her family while allowing for her mothers story to finally be heard.
A past filled with tragedy and moments of deep family conversations bring to light shocking long kept secrets and reopens newly healed wounds.
“The freedom of women is the point of this film: Liberation from the smothering care of one’s mother — as well as liberation from the sometimes-asphyxiating embrace of our parents’ traditional beliefs, in this case, of religion,” stated Topper Sherwood, Berlin film critic.
60 films from 23 countries were showcased under the festival’s theme “An Unscripted World,” highlighting Arab and international productions.
The Amman International Film Festival (AIFF) awards international achievements –with a focus on Arab cinema. The festival aims to overall highlight first-time filmmaking accomplishments.
Juries from around the globe vote on the Best Arab Feature-Length Narrative, Best Arab Feature-Length Documentary and Best Arab Short Film. The audience then chooses the favorite non-Arab debut film and all category winners receive a “Black Iris.”
El Mouzghibati was born in Belgium and studied editing and screenwriting at the Institut National des Arts du Spectacle (INSAS) film school in Brussels. The director has since worked around Europe and Northern Africa on both fiction and documentary projects.
Her goal is to tell intimate and authentic stories to tackle universal themes, and from this mission stemmed her first feature documentary, ”(Y)our Mother.”
