2 min
Supported by Aide aux cinémas du monde, "La Mère de tous les mensonges" is released in France
In La Mère de tous les mensonges, winner of the best director in Un certain regard at the last Cannes Festival, Asmae El Moudir questions her family origins through theprism of the Casablanca bread riots. From fiction to reality, she creates an impactful film, where her personal story meets national history. The film can be seen in French cinemas from Wednesday 28 February.
A filmmaker with many hats
Director, scriptwriter and producer, Asmae El Moudir was born in 1990 in Salé, Morocco. After studying documentary film at Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, she earned a master's degree in production at the Rabat Institute of Information and Communication (ISCA). In 2013, she joined La Fémis Summer University where she directed Mémoires anachroniques ou le couscous du vendredi midi. Continuing to direct short films without finding a producer, she decided to set up her own production company and in 2020, released her first feature documentary film, La Carte postale. The following year, she directed La Mère de tous les mensonges, receiving the Un certain regard prize for best director at the 2023 Cannes Festival.
A pertinent quest for truth
Entirely written, produced and directed by Asmae El Moudir, La Mère de tous les mensonges looks back at the Bread Riots that took place in Morocco in 1981. Severely repressed, they remain as a tragic moment in Morocco's history, highlighted through the testimonies of various members of her family. Operating as both screenwriter and daughter, the filmmaker explores family lies in a quest for truth carried by her own voice. From childhood to the perspective of adulthood, she dives into a mix of fiction and reality to re-appropriate her identity.
A clever mix of reality and fiction
The origins of La Mère de tous les mensonges lie with Asmae El Moudir's grandmother, who would not allow the creation of images and photographs. To remedy this, she and her father Mohammed decided to open a workshop to make miniature clay figures that could recreate the street of her childhood in the Sbata district in Casablanca. Through this research into her family history, she reports on the collective history of the neighbourhood during the 1981 bread riots in Casablanca and the massacres of inhabitants that ensued.
A prize winner at the Cannes Festival
Receiving its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Festival, La Mère de tous les mensonges was awarded the Un certain regard prize for best director. It was put forward as the Moroccan entry for the best international feature film at the 96th Oscars ceremony and finished in the final shortlist of 15 films. Released in French cinemas on 28 February, it is supported by Aide aux cinémas du monde, which assists collaborations between foreign filmmakers from around the world and French industry professionals.
The film benefited from Aide aux cinémas du monde, a selective fund co-managed by the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée and the Institut français.