Ziyara (2020)
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Country:
France, Morocco, Belgium
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Duration:
99 min
- Program:
- Type:
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Genre:
road movie, history
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Director:
Simone Bitton
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Producer:
Thierry Lenouvel, Lamia Chraibi
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Cast:
Simone Bitton
About film
Before the 1950s, the Jewish population in Morocco counted more than 300 000 people. Since then, Jewish emigrants got scattered all over the world. Director Simone Bitton’s family settled in France. In Ziyara (a term that refers to a form of pilgrimage to sacred places), Bitton returns to her homeland in search of the Jewish trace. Travelling by car, she looks for the Jewish heritage: cemeteries, remnants of the Mellah (the Jewish quarter), synagogues, and schools — places that are valued and maintained by the local people. They tell Bitton about the importance of heritage conservation and devotion, as well as the relationships between Jews and Muslims. One of the locals is thinking out loud: what would Morocco be like today if the Jews had stayed? A good question indeed.
Rewards and nominations
- IDFA 2020 — Masters Section
Director
Simone Bitton is a French-Moroccan director and screenwriter, the winner of the César Awards. She describes herself as a Mizrahi Jew (a term that is used to refer to Jews of Middle-Eastern and North African origin) and often dedicates her works to the specifics of the relationships between Muslims, Arabs, and Jews. Ziyara, her first individual work in more than ten years, tells about the Arabs and the Jews in Morocco. The film was included in the Masters section at the IDFA. Bitton commented that she’s not yet ready to call herself a Master, but the director was being overly humble — according to critical reviews, Bitton’s works stand out thanks to the virtuosity of her cinematic language and dramaturgical tension.
Along with
- Category:
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Speaker:
Maxim Gammal
Along with
- Category:
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Speaker:
Maxim Gammal
Trailer
Director
Simone Bitton is a French-Moroccan director and screenwriter, the winner of the César Awards. She describes herself as a Mizrahi Jew (a term that is used to refer to Jews of Middle-Eastern and North African origin) and often dedicates her works to the specifics of the relationships between Muslims, Arabs, and Jews. Ziyara, her first individual work in more than ten years, tells about the Arabs and the Jews in Morocco. The film was included in the Masters section at the IDFA. Bitton commented that she’s not yet ready to call herself a Master, but the director was being overly humble — according to critical reviews, Bitton’s works stand out thanks to the virtuosity of her cinematic language and dramaturgical tension.
