Karima Saïdi’s documentary movingly tries to shore up memories from her mother’s life, but the ethics of the process are uneasy
While caring for her mother Aïcha who has Alzheimer’s, film-maker Karima Saïdi often asks her the simple yet loaded question: “Where do you live?” At one point, her mother replies: “In a handkerchief”; a strangely poetic answer that encapsulates the mental haze of her condition. At other times she speaks of her childhood in Tangier, or the family home in Brussels where she saw her children grow up. As Aïcha’s mind wanders, Saïdi’s documentary transforms into a haven for her memories, which are fading fast.
This cinematic nest is built from old home videos and photographs, which tell of a turbulent immigrant life in Belgium. Saïdi’s older sister Amina was forced into marriage at the age of 15, and her brothers Jamal and Mohamed both died relatively young.
While caring for her mother Aïcha who has Alzheimer’s, film-maker Karima Saïdi often asks her the simple yet loaded question: “Where do you live?” At one point, her mother replies: “In a handkerchief”; a strangely poetic answer that encapsulates the mental haze of her condition. At other times she speaks of her childhood in Tangier, or the family home in Brussels where she saw her children grow up. As Aïcha’s mind wanders, Saïdi’s documentary transforms into a haven for her memories, which are fading fast.
This cinematic nest is built from old home videos and photographs, which tell of a turbulent immigrant life in Belgium. Saïdi’s older sister Amina was forced into marriage at the age of 15, and her brothers Jamal and Mohamed both died relatively young.
- 5/22/2023
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
The eighth edition of the annual talent incubator takes place online from March 18-23.
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has unveiled the 45 projects that will participate in the eighth edition of its annual talent incubator Qumra, taking place online March 18-23.
The event is running as a virtual edition for the third year due to ongoing health concerns and travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The selection spans 28 features, 11 shorts and 6 series in different stages of development and production from 21 territories.
Features in development include Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s debut feature The Teacher and Syrian director Anas Khalaf...
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has unveiled the 45 projects that will participate in the eighth edition of its annual talent incubator Qumra, taking place online March 18-23.
The event is running as a virtual edition for the third year due to ongoing health concerns and travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The selection spans 28 features, 11 shorts and 6 series in different stages of development and production from 21 territories.
Features in development include Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s debut feature The Teacher and Syrian director Anas Khalaf...
- 3/2/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The eighth edition of the annual talent incubator takes place online from March 18-23.
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has unveiled the 48 projects that will participate in the eighth edition of its annual talent incubator Qumra, taking place online March 18-23.
The event is running as a virtual edition for the third year due to ongoing health concerns and travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The selection spans 28 features, 11 shorts and 6 series in different stages of development and production from 21 territories.
Features in development include Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s debut feature The Teacher and Syrian director Anas Khalaf...
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has unveiled the 48 projects that will participate in the eighth edition of its annual talent incubator Qumra, taking place online March 18-23.
The event is running as a virtual edition for the third year due to ongoing health concerns and travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The selection spans 28 features, 11 shorts and 6 series in different stages of development and production from 21 territories.
Features in development include Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s debut feature The Teacher and Syrian director Anas Khalaf...
- 3/2/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Syrian filmmaker Anas Khalaf, French-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui and Egypt’s Ahmed Fawzi Saleh have also received backing.
Algerian-French filmmaker Mounia Meddour’s third feature Délit de Solidarité is among 35 projects to have secured Doha Film Institute (Dfi) funding as part of its autumn 2021 grants round.
The drama, which is in development, revolves around a young woman living at a key crossing point for migrants on the Italian-French border. Its French title translates as “a crime of solidarity”.
The Dfi previously supported Meddour’s debut feature Papicha which premiered to critical acclaim in Cannes Un Certain Regard. The filmmaker is...
Algerian-French filmmaker Mounia Meddour’s third feature Délit de Solidarité is among 35 projects to have secured Doha Film Institute (Dfi) funding as part of its autumn 2021 grants round.
The drama, which is in development, revolves around a young woman living at a key crossing point for migrants on the Italian-French border. Its French title translates as “a crime of solidarity”.
The Dfi previously supported Meddour’s debut feature Papicha which premiered to critical acclaim in Cannes Un Certain Regard. The filmmaker is...
- 2/7/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Increasing numbers of personal family documentaries seem to have emerged in recent years, with directors often holding their family histories up to the light through conversations with an elderly loved one. While some, like the quirky, life-affirming Dick Johnson Is Dead achieve a universal resonance, others, though no doubt heartfelt and well made, struggle to escape the feel of a family therapy session.
A Way Home falls into the latter camp, as director Karima Saïdi records conversations with her mother Aïcha, who is living with Alzheimer's. Now in a care home in Belgium, where she migrated from Morocco, when her children were young, Karima uses still photographs in a bid to prompt her mother's recollections as she considers the family's past.
The whole of the film has an impressionistic feel, with Karima using direct footage of her mum sparingly, instead focusing on other things as their conversations unfold - the lapping of waves,...
A Way Home falls into the latter camp, as director Karima Saïdi records conversations with her mother Aïcha, who is living with Alzheimer's. Now in a care home in Belgium, where she migrated from Morocco, when her children were young, Karima uses still photographs in a bid to prompt her mother's recollections as she considers the family's past.
The whole of the film has an impressionistic feel, with Karima using direct footage of her mum sparingly, instead focusing on other things as their conversations unfold - the lapping of waves,...
- 4/12/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
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