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Headbang Lullaby

Panorama Special 2017
On 11 June 1986, one day after Morocco wrote football world cup history by scoring a surprising victory over Portugal, government official Daoud is ordered to secure a bridge outside Casablanca that sits between two hostile communities over an empty highway. Here, he is to await the expected but by no means certain visit of King Hassan II. Encounters with government supporters and the families of political prisoners; the mysterious appearance of a foreign woman and a Berber, as well as the story of a football crazy boy all prove to be a bit much for Daoud. Ever since the bloody ‘bread riots’ five years earlier, he has felt paralysed. But the euphoria and the hope he encounters here help to lift his mood. The Moroccan team’s success unleashes a new self-confidence and lust for life that transcends the surreal shadow of the monarchy. As in Starve your Dog, Hicham Lasri takes another critical look at his country’s history, creating a visually stunning, iridescent, psychedelic fairy tale full of absurd situations above which a mercilessly oppressed people rises.
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by Hicham Lasri
with Aziz Hattab, Latefa Ahrrare, Zoubir Abou el Fadl, El Jirari Benaissa, Salma Eddlimi, Adil Abatorab, Zoubida Akif, Jaouad Sayeh, Nacer Mdaghri, Saadia Marrakchia Morocco / France / Qatar / Lebanon 2017 Arabic 111’ Colour

With

  • Aziz Hattab (Daoud)
  • Latefa Ahrrare (Rita)
  • Zoubir Abou el Fadl (Lotfi)
  • El Jirari Benaissa (Moqadem Coca)
  • Salma Eddlimi (Leila)
  • Adil Abatorab (Larbi)
  • Zoubida Akif (Amina)
  • Jaouad Sayeh (Moqadem Bibsi)
  • Nacer Mdaghri (Ali)
  • Saadia Marrakchia (Houira)

Crew

Written and Directed by Hicham Lasri
Cinematography Charles-Hubert Morin
Editing Mona-Lise Lanfant
Music Wissam Hojeij
Sound Patrice F. Mendez
Production Design Rachid Joundoul
Costumes Amal Benayad
Make-Up Ghita Lahlou
Casting Amine Louadni
Assistant Director Amina Saadi
Executive Producer Mickaël Clouet
Producer Thomas Guentch, Mickaël Clouet, Rita El Quessar

World Sales

Paul Thiltges Distributions

Produced by

Les Films de l'Heure Bleue

Pan Production

Photos

Press Conference

Hicham Lasri

Born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1977. He studied law before making a name for himself as a playwright, novelist and screenwriter. In 2011, he made his debut feature, The End, about the last days of Morocco’s King Hassan II.

Filmography

2005 Jardin des Rides; 13 min. 2010 Android; 8 min. 2011 The End; 105 min. 2013 C’est eux les chiens (They Are the Dogs); 85 min. 2014 Al bahr min ouaraikoum (The Sea is Behind); 88 min., Panorama 2015 2015 Starve Your Dog; 94 min., Panorama 2016 2017 Headbang Lullaby; 90 min., Panorama 2017 2018 Jahilya

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018