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The Mother of All Lies

The Mother of All Lies
Promotional release poster
Arabicكذب أبيض
LiterallyWhite Lies
Directed byAsmae El Moudir
Written byAsmae El Moudir
Produced byAsmae El Moudir
Starring
  • Zahra Jeddaoui
  • Mohamed El Moudir
  • Abdallah EZ Zouid
  • Said Masrour
  • Ouardia Zorkani
  • Asmae El Moudir
Narrated byAsmae El Moudir
CinematographyHatem Nechi[1]
Edited byAsmae El Moudir
Music byNass El Ghiwane
Production
companies
  • Insight Films (Morocco)
  • Fig Leaf Studios (Egypt)
  • Al Jazeera Documentary (Qatar)
  • Red Sea Fund (Saudi Arabia)
Release date
  • 24 May 2023 (2023-05-24) (Cannes)
Running time
96 minutes[2]
Countries
  • Morocco
  • Egypt
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
LanguageArabic

The Mother of All Lies (Arabic: كذب أبيض, romanized: kadib ʿabyaḍ, lit. 'White Lies') is a 2023 Arabic-language documentary film directed, written, produced and edited by Asmae El Moudir. The film explores the director's search for truth in her family background, combining personal and national history.[3] It is a co-production between Morocco, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.[2]

The film had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival,[4] where El Moudir won the Un Certain Regard Best Director award.[5] In December of that year, it became the first Moroccan film in the 20-year history of the Marrakech International Film Festival to win the Étoile d'Or, the festival's top prize.[6] It was selected as the Moroccan entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards,[7] and was one of the 15 finalist films in the December shortlist.[8]

Plot

Unclear about her family's lack of personal photos, director Asmae El Moudir learns that her grandmother Zahra strictly prohibited the creation of any images or photographs. El Moudir and her father Mohamed open an atelier where they craft a set of miniature clay figurines that recreate her childhood street in Sebata district in Casablanca. Friends, neighbors, and, more difficultly, Zahra are brought to the workshop to interact with the miniatures and reflect upon their past. As she investigates her family's history, she unravels its connection to the collective history of the neighborhood, particularly to the 1981 Casablanca bread riots which resulted in the massacre of many residents.[3]

El Moudir narrates the film from her perspectives as a child and as an adult, melding fiction and reality to show how unreliable memories can complicate a person's identity. El Moudir says,

"I am not trying to document the true story of my family but to make a film about the multiplicity of points of view and the plurality of interpretations that exist within one household, not only for the sake of family history but for that of national history as well."[4]

Cast

  • Zahra Jeddaoui
  • Mohamed El Moudir
  • Abdallah EZ Zouid
  • Said Masrour
  • Ouardia Zorkani
  • Asmae El Moudir[1]

Production

The film took Asmae El Moudir a total of eight years to complete. Without any archive of visual material from her family history, she began creating her own. She began shooting with her small camera in 2018, then went in search of financing for a bigger production and to secure the director of photography. Between 2019 and 2020, she worked on the set. El Moudir and her father spent eight months creating the miniature models. Shooting lasted three months and took place in what she called the "atelier" or "laboratory". Spending 2018 to 2021 making the film in the laboratory, El Moudir eventually ended up with 500 hours of footage. The laboratory was located three hours away from Casablanca. El Moudir believed her interviewees would be less forthcoming in Casablanca since they felt they could not talk freely in their houses. She told them that the physical distance would create a space where they could concentrate.[3]

El Moudir spent three years attempting to convince her grandmother to participate in the film. A turning point came when she brought an actress and informed her grandmother that the actress would tell her story instead. Her grandmother objected and agreed that she could a better job.[3]

The film's Arabic title translates to "White Lies". El Moudir uses the expression of a white lie becoming the "mother of all lies" to emphasize how her family telling small lies in the household "grew, broke the walls of our houses and escaped into the neighborhood and then in the entire country." The title is also interpreted with "the mother" being El Moudir's grandmother.[3]

El Moudir presented a working copy of the film at the "Final Cut in Venice", where films compete for financial post-production support, during the 78th Venice International Film Festival.[9][10]

Music

Music featured in the film is by Nass El Ghiwane, a Moroccan musical group founded in the 1970s in Casablanca. According to the press notes of The Mother of All Lies from the 2023 Cannes Film Festival where El Moudir won the Un Certain Regard Best Director award, the music of Nass El Ghiwane playing on the radio evokes powerful memories of the director's childhood. The notes further add: "Their repertoire is drawn from the melting pot of Moroccan culture and poetry, but also from Sufi texts from great religious figures of Islam. With their engaging and poetic lyrics reflecting the discomfort of Moroccan youth at the time and their powerful rhythms, played with traditional instruments, they have revolutionized Moroccan and North African music and left an indelible mark on the country's cultural landscape".[11]

Release

The film was selected to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival,[12] where it had its world premiere on 24 May 2023.[4] It also screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2023.[1][13] The documentary was also invited to the 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival in 'Spectrum' section and was screened on 28 September 2023.[14] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Documentary Showcase' section and was screened on 5 October 2023.[15]

International sales are handled by Autlook Filmsales.[4]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 35 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[17]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards 10 March 2024 Best International Feature Film The Mother of All Lies Shortlisted [18]
Bergen International Film Festival 26 October 2023 Best International Documentary Won [19]
Cannes Film Festival 26 May 2023 Prix Un Certain Regard Asmae El Moudir Nominated [20]
[21]
Un Certain Regard for Best Director Won
27 May 2023 L'Œil d'or (shared with Four Daughters) Won [22]
IDA Documentary Awards 12 December 2023 Best Feature Documentary The Mother of All Lies Nominated [23]
Best Director Asmae El Moudir Won [24]
Best Writing Nominated [23]
Independent Spirit Awards 25 February 2024 Best Documentary Feature Nominated [25]
International Cinephile Society 11 February 2024 Best Documentary The Mother of All Lies Won [26]
Marrakech International Film Festival 2 December 2023 Étoile d'Or Won [27]
Producers Guild of America Awards 25 February 2024 Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures Nominated [28]
Sydney Film Festival 18 June 2023 Best Film Won [29]
Valladolid International Film Festival 28 October 2023 Tiempo de Historia Award Nominated [30]
Tiempo de Historia Audience Award Won [31]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Mother of All Lies". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b "KADIB ABYAD". Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Starting from Scratch: Asmae ElMoudir on The Mother of All Lies (Kadib Abyad)". 23 August 2023. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Barraclough, Leo (11 May 2023). "Cannes Entry 'The Mother of All Lies,' About Deception Within Filmmaker's Family, Debuts Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)". Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  5. ^ Felperin, Leslie (26 May 2023). "'The Mother of All Lies' Review: An Inspired Moroccan Documentary Tackles Family Secrets and a Nation's History". Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  6. ^ Rothe, E. Nina (3 December 2023). "Morocco's 'The Mother of All Lies' wins historic top prize at Marrakech". Screen International. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  7. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (18 September 2023). "Oscars: Morocco Selects 'The Mother Of All Lies' For Best International Feature Film". Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  8. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (21 December 2023). "2024 Oscar Shortlists Unveiled: 'Barbie,' 'Poor Things,' 'Maestro,' and 'The Zone of Interest' Make the Cut". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Le mensonge originel d'Asmae El Moudir à la 9è édition de Final Cut in Venice". Quid.ma. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Final Cut in Venice announces its six titles selected for 2021". Cineuropa. 21 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  11. ^ "THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES Press Notes" (PDF). Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  12. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (13 April 2023). "Young talents abound in Cannes' Un Certain Regard". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  13. ^ Morfoot, Addie (26 July 2023). "Docs About Louis C.K., Paul Simon and a Whole Foods Dishwasher Who Moonlights as a Mountain Climber Are Among Those Going to Toronto This Year". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  14. ^ "The Mother of All Lies". Vancouver International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  15. ^ "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  16. ^ "The Mother of All Lies". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  17. ^ "The Mother of All Lies". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  18. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (21 December 2023). "Academy Unveils Shortlists in 10 Oscar Categories". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  19. ^ Petkova, Savina (27 October 2023). "The Mum in Me crowned Best Norwegian Documentary at the Bergen International Film Festival". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Cannes 2023 line-up guide: Un Certain Regard titles". Screen International. 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  21. ^ Roxborough, Scott (26 May 2023). "Cannes: 'How to Have Sex' Wins Best Film in 2023 Un Certain Regard". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  22. ^ Carey, Matthew (27 May 2023). "'Four Daughters' And 'The Mother Of All Lies' Share L'Oeil d'Or, Top Documentary Prize At Cannes". Deadline. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  23. ^ a b Carey, Matthew (21 November 2023). "'Apolonia, Apolonia,' 'The Mother Of All Lies,' 'Milisuthando' Lead Way As IDA Documentary Awards Announces Nominees – Full List". Deadline. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  24. ^ Morfoot, Addie (12 December 2023). "'Bobi Wine: The People's President' Wins Best Feature at IDA Documentary Awards – Full Winners List". Variety. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  25. ^ Blauvelt, Christian (5 December 2023). "'American Fiction,' 'May December,' 'Past Lives' Lead 2024 Indie Spirits Noms". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  26. ^ Stevens, Beth (11 February 2024). "2024 ICS Award Winners". International Cinephile Society. Archived from the original on 11 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  27. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (2 December 2023). "Marrakech Winners: Asmae El Moudir's 'The Mother Of All Lies' Makes History As First Moroccan Film To Win Étoile D'Or Top Prize". Deadline. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  28. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (12 January 2024). "PGA Awards 2024 Nominations: Maestro, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Past Lives Among Contenders". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  29. ^ Frater, Patrick (18 June 2023). "'The Mother of all Lies' Wins Sydney Film Festival top Prize". Variety. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  30. ^ "The Mother of All Lies". Seminci. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  31. ^ Hopewell, John; Sandoval, Pablo (29 October 2023). "Valladolid: 'The Permanent Picture,' 'The Old Oak' Win Big as the Spanish Festival's Reboot Wins Applause". Variety. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

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