A true pioneer of Moroccan cinema, Farida Benlyazid has to her credit many accomplishments that have made her a central figure in the nation’s cinema. She is the first Moroccan woman to produce a film, an accomplished screenwriter who has written several classics such as Poupées de roseaux (1981), Badis (1989) and Looking for My Wife’s Husband (1995) and the director of a body of work that addresses issues of spirituality, the status of women in society and the quest for justice and truth. A free and independent artist, Benlyazid has paved the way for many Moroccan women directors who have looked to the director of A Door to the Sky (1989) and Women’s Wiles (1999) as an inspiration and a model.
Maité goes to Laâyoune, where Dahmane awaits her, to make a documentary on the Moroccan Sahara. The reality she discovers there is nothing like what she imagined. She believes that Dahmane wants to influence her work and decides to leave. The day before her departure, she meets some people from an NGO who are going into the desert and she joins them. So begins an adventure that combines documentary and fiction to capture the magic of the desert.
Director Farida Benlyazid
Producer Latif Lahlou
Screenwriter Farida Benlyazid
Cinematographer Kamal Derkaoui
Editor Fatima Benbrahim
Sound Simo Mohamed
Music Moncef Adyel
Production Company Cinétéléma, SNRT, 2M
International Sales Film Export