The feature films “Kadib Abyad” (The mother of all lies) by Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir and “Les Meutes” by Kamal Lazraq have been selected in the “un certain regard” category of the official selection of the 76th Cannes Film Festival , scheduled for May 16-21.
The new president of the festival, Iris Knobloch, and her general delegate, Thierry Frémaux, unveiled, during a press conference on Thursday, the list of feature films selected in Competition, Out of Competition, at Un certain regard, in Séances de Minuit , at Cannes Première and in Special Screenings.
“Les Meutes”, Kamal Lazraq’s first film, and “Kadib Abyad” (doc-fiction) will be in the running in the “un certain regard” section alongside 15 other productions.
“Les Meutes”, which was awarded for the screenplay as part of the Gan Foundation’s 2021 Creation Prize, tells the story of Hassan and Issam, father and son, who try to survive from day to day, chaining the little ones trafficking for the local underworld in the popular suburbs of Casablanca. One night, a man they were supposed to kidnap accidentally dies in their car. Hassan and Issam find themselves with a corpse to make disappear. Then begins a long night through the slums of the city.
In “Kadib Abyad”, Asmae, a young Moroccan director, goes to her parents’ home in Casablanca to help them move. Once in her childhood home, she begins to sort through her old things. Suddenly, Asmae comes across a photo: children smiling in the courtyard of a kindergarten. Almost out of frame is a little girl sitting on a bench, looking shyly at the camera.
This photo is the only image of his childhood, the only memory that his mother was able to pass on to him. But Asmae is convinced that she is not the child in this image. In order to get her parents talking, Asmae introduces her camera and plays with this intimate incident to evoke other memories that she doesn’t believe either. This photo becomes the starting point of an investigation during which the director questions all the little lies told to her by her family. Little by little, Asmae explores the memory of her neighborhood and her country.
In total, 19 films have been selected in official competition, which could be joined by a twentieth, Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese. This film is for the moment planned out of competition, but the festival would like to see it compete for the palme d’or, declared the general delegate of the festival during the press conference.
This 76th edition is chaired by the Swedish director Ruben Östlund, who succeeds the French actor, Vincent Lindon.