Animalia is a 2023 French-Moroccan science fiction film directed by Sofia Alaoui in her feature directorial debut, based on Alaoui's short film So What If the Goats Die. The movie follows Itto (Oumaïma Barid), a pregnant woman who attempts to reunite with her husband Amine (Mehdi Dehbi) as extraterrestrial occurrences in Morocco southeast of Casablanca cause the country to descend into chaos.
| Animalia | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| French | Parmi nous |
| Literally | Among Us |
| Directed by | Sofia Alaoui |
| Written by | Sofia Alaoui |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Noé Bach |
| Edited by | Héloïse Pelloquet |
| Music by | Amine Bouhafa |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Ad Vitam Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Languages | |
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, on 20 January 2023. The film had a positive reception, with critics particularly praising the direction, the performances of Barid and Dehbi, and the score.[1][2]
Cast
edit- Oumaïma Barid as Itto
- Mehdi Dehbi as Amine
- Fouad Oughaou as Fouad
- Souad Khouyi as Hajar
Production
editThe principal photography concluded in November 2021 after thirty five days of filming.[3] Animalia is produced by Wrong Films and SRAB Films,[4] and co-produced by ARTE France Cinéma and the Moroccan companies Jiango Films and Dounia Productions.[5] The film was produced under the working title Parmi nous (lit. 'Among Us').[6] International sales are handled by Totem Films.[4]
Release
editAnimalia had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, on 20 January 2023.[7][8] It was theatrically released in France by Ad Vitam Distribution on 9 August 2023.[9]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 100% approval rating based on 20 critics' reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.[10]
At the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival, the film won the award for Best International Feature Film.[11]
References
edit- ^ Khairy, Wael (2 March 2023). "The Oneness of All Things: On Sofia Alaoui's Animalia". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ Kiang, Jessica (20 January 2023). "'Animalia' Review: Aliens Invade the Art-house in an Impressively Atmospheric and Enigmatic Feature Debut". Variety. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ Lemercier, Fabien (25 November 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: Sofia Alaoui's Animalia is now in post-production". Cineuropa. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Animalia" (in French). Wrong Films. February 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ Lemercier, Fabien (23 January 2023). "Review: Animalia". Cineuropa. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ San Frax, Julien (3 August 2023). "Bienvenue au Maroc, dans un film de SF mystique". Causeur (in French). Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (7 December 2022). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Set With Ukraine War, Little Richard, Michael J. Fox, Judy Blume Docs; Pics With Anne Hathaway, Emilia Clarke, Jonathan Majors; More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ Kudláč, Martin (8 December 2022). "An in-person Sundance returns with a raft of rising European voices". Cineuropa. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ "Animalia, Les Avantages de voyager en train, Un coup de maître... : les films de la semaine aidés par le CNC" (in French). CNC. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ^ "Animalia". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Aryn Toombs, "Winners of 2023 CIFF competitions unveiled". LiveWire Calgary, 25 September 2023.