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SLEEPING CHILD, THE

12.07 - 10.00 Moscow Cinema, Blue Hall
14.07 - 21.00 Moscow Cinema, Red Hall
2004, Belgium/Morocco, 95 min.

Script/Dir.: Yasmine Kassari, Dir. of Phot.: Yorgos Arvanitis, Compos.: Armand Amar, gusan Achot, Sound: Madone Charpail, Henri Morelle, Edit.: Susana Rossberg, Prod.: Jean-Jacques Andrien
Cast: Mounia Osfour, Rachida Brakni, Nermine Elhaggar, Fatna Abdessamie, Khamsa Abdessamie.

In an isolated village in south Morocco, Zeinab's wedding is being celebrated. The next day all the men leave the village to look for a better future in Europe. When she discovers she is pregnant, the young wife decides to put the child to sleep, (a social practice widespread in the rural world of Maghreb today, it is said that a foetus can survive in its mother's womb for years), that he may be born only when her husband returns. But time goes by and her husband does not come back. Yasmine Kassari depicts the women's dead-end situation, their expectations and their hopes.

Awards
International Art and Essay Confederation (CICAE) award for the “European Best Film” distinction, (Venice, 2004); The public prize (19th IFF Namur, Belgium, 2004); Special distinction of the jury (8th festival of Mediterranean cinema, Brussels); Public and best actor prizes (17th one-week European film festival of Angers, France); Special Jury Award (Fribourg IFF, Suisse, 2005); Silver Astor (IFF Mar del Plata, Argentina); Vesuvio Award (7th IFF Napoli, Italy); Best Feature Film (13th IFF Barcelona, Spain); The Parajanov prize (Tbilisi IFF, Georgia); The First Prize (12th International Women's Film Festival, Torino, Italy); The First Prize (8th National Film Festival, Tanger, Morocco).

Yasmine Kassari

Born 1972, Marocco.
She studied cinema at the INSAS in Brussels. The Sleeping Child is her feature-length debut.

Filmography
Chiens Errants (1995, short), Quand les hommes pleurent (2001, doc.).

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RETROSPECTIVES

Script/Dir.: Marco Bellocchio, Dir. of Phot.: Alberto Marrama, Compos.: Ennio Morricone, Prod. Design.: Gisella Longo, Edit.: Silvano Agosti, Prod.: Enzo Doria.
Cast:. Lou Castel, Paola Pitagora, Marino Masé, Liliana Gerace, Stefania Troglio, Jeannie McNeil.

On a rural estate live three brothers, a sister, and their blind, religious mother. Three of the siblings have epilepsy, the fourth and eldest, Augusto does not, and he's about to break away from the family: he's in love with Lucia and planning to move to the city. Augusto's sister Guilia tries to frustrate the lovers, while another brother, Alessandro, hatches a far-reaching plot to free himself of his mother's demands and other family responsibilities, to give Augusto the wherewithal to leave with Lucia, and, perhaps, to pursue incestuous impulses with his sister.

Awards
Silver Ribbon - Best Original Story, Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists, 1966; Silver Sail, Locarno IFF, 1965.

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ARCANA

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Documentary Films

Script/Dir./ Dir. of Phot./Prod.: Cristobal Vicente, Compos.: Carlos Canales, Toto Alvarez, Sound: Mario Diaz, Rafael Huerta, Cristobal Vicente. Edit.: Cristobal Vicente, Carlos Klein.

This film presnts a record of the last working year of the old prison of Valparaiso, which closed in 1999. It is a homage to the prison and to the values and customs of the men, who have secretly lived within it during its 150 year history.

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