Fatima 2015 WEB-DL Sonata Premiere

The immigrant experience is on the minds of quite a few French filmmakers this year, as the SFFF 2016 line-up can attest. For writer/director Philippe Faucon, it has been a career-defining theme. His latest film, Fatima, a prime example of his laid-back docu-style naturalism, was crowned with the 2016 César for Best Film of the year! It also took the awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Most Promising Actress for bright newcomer Zita Hanrot. Fatima (played by non-professional actor Soria Zeroual, who actually worked as a house cleaner when she was cast) is a North African-born divorced mother, tirelessly working cleaning jobs to provide the best possible future for her two daughters, Souad (Kenza Noah Aïche), a rebellious fifteen-year-old, and Nesrine (Hanrot), a hard-working eighteen-year-old who is just starting her first year in medical school. The film astutely depicts the everyday struggles, tensions and humiliations, but also the moments of joy and fraternity, affecting these three very different immigrant women, each one striving in her own way to find her place in French society. Fatima is a joyful and kind hearted celebration of their fortitude. The screenplay is based on Fatima Elayoubi's autobiographical collection of poems and prose, Prière à la lune (Prayer to the Moon).