Alyam, Alyam

Oh the Days!

Forum 2017

Set in a small village in the Moroccan countryside, Alyam, Alyam tells a story culled from the lived reality of young men almost forty years ago while still remaining very much of the present day. A young man named Abdelwahed pins his dreams of a better life for himself and his family on travelling to France and finding work there. As the eldest of eight children, he becomes the principal caretaker and breadwinner for his family after his father passes away. He fills out forms and waits for his work permit to arrive. Meanwhile, Hlima, his recently widowed mother who’s reticent to let him go, tries in vain to dissuade him and enlists the help of Abdelwahed’s grandfather too. As the days flow by to the cadence of life in the countryside, marked by the hardships of farming, Abdelwahed waits. All he can do is wait. Straddling fiction and documentary, Alyam, Alyam is Ahmed El Maanouni’s first narrative feature, and the first Moroccan film ever to be selected at the Cannes Film Festival. Recently restored, the film’s splendor and finely crafted editing has become available once again for cinéphiles and new generations to discover.

by Ahmed El Maanouni Morocco 1978 Arabic 87’ Colour

Crew

Written and Directed by	Ahmed El Maanouni
Cinematography	Ahmed El Maanouni
Editing	Martine Chicot
Music	Nass El Ghiwane
Sound	Ricardo Castro

Produced by

Rabii Films Productions

Additional information

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Ahmed El Maanouni

Born in 1944 in Casablanca, Morocco. He studied Economics in Paris. He then graduated from the Belgian film school INSAS. Ahmed El Maanouni is a director, cinematographer, and producer.

Filmography (selection)

1978 Alyam, Alyam (Oh the Days!); 87 min. 1981 Al hal / Transe; 90 min. 1984 Les Yeux du golfe (Eyes of the Gulf) 1992 Les Goumiers marocains (The Moroccan Goumiers); 52 min. 1999 La Vie et le règne de Mohamed V (Life and Reign of Mohamed V); 52 min. 2006 Maroc-France, une histoire commune (Morocco-France, A History in Common); Three parts, 52 min. each 2007 Al quoloub al mouhtariqua (Burned Hearts); 84 min. · Conversations avec Driss Chraïbi 2015 Mohammed V, les chemins de la liberté

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2017