Beauty and the Dogs (Aala Kef Ifrit)
New Voices in Cinema
Kaouther Ben Hania / Feature Narrative / Tunisia, France, Sweden, Norway, Lebanon, Switzerland, Germany, Qatar / 2017 / Colour
Rated: Mature subject matter. Not suitable for minors. Individuals under the age of 18 are not admitted into cinemas.
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Synopsis
Mariam wants to have a nice night out, so she takes to the dancefloor at the benefit she has organised. She makes friends with Youssef, and they go for a walk. Then, she is savagely attacked by some policemen. Despite the trauma she has experienced, she is determined to obtain the medical certificate needed to sue her attackers. With this goal in mind, she finds herself in the absurd and exasperating situation of needing to obtain documentation for her case.
It seems no one, from doctors and nurses to police officers and cab drivers, has any sympathy for another person who is in distress; neither are they willing to show her the simplest kindness. Mariam cannot even go home: she has lost her purse, Youssef has no cash, and besides, the curfew of the dorm where she lives has come and gone.
‘Beauty and the Dogs’ is a deeply moving tale of a woman who, in the most undignified of situations, insists on maintaining her dignity and demanding some of humanity’s most basic rights: the right to be heard, to expose the truth, and to see justice served.
About the Director
Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania studied cinema in Tunisia and in Paris at La Fémis and the Sorbonne. She has directed several short films, including ‘Wooden Hand’ (2013), which had a lengthy and successful run on the international festival circuit. Her documentary film ‘Imams Go to School’ had its premiere at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam in 2010 and was selected for numerous prestigious film festivals. ‘Challat of Tunis’, her first feature film, opened the ACID section of the Festival de Cannes in 2014. Her most recent film, ‘Zaineb Hates the Snow’, shot over years in Canada and Tunisia, premiered in the Official Selection of the Festival del Film Locarno in 2016, won a Golden Tanit at the Carthage Film Festival, and was named Best Documentary at Cinémed.
Credits
- Director
- Kaouther Ben Hania
- Screenwriter
- Kaouther Ben Hania
- Producer
- Habib Attia, Nadim Cheikhrouha
- Editor
- Nadia Ben Rachid
- Music
- Amine Bouhafa
- Cinematographer
- Johan Holmquist
- Production Company
- Cinétéléfilms, Tanit Films
- Distributor
- MC Distribution
- Cast
- Meriam Al Ferjani, Ghanem Zrelli, Noomane Hamda, Mohamed Akkari, Chedly Arfaoui