North American Premiere
The vibrant city of Marrakech is a magnet for European tourists, and all they need to get there is their passport and a plane ticket. But, without a visa, the locals don’t enjoy the same freedom of movement. Many young Moroccans, like Samir, consider marrying a foreigner the key to pursuing a better life in Europe. Dreaming of love, and of leaving his home country, he laments the fleetingness of his relationships with the tourists he dates—never knowing if they’ll come back someday because they’re drawn to him, or to the destination.
Meanwhile, Samir’s sisters have high hopes that he will find stability and satisfaction through an arranged marriage with a Moroccan woman. When he falls in love with a tourist, Samir must weigh a life-changing decision: follow his girlfriend to Europe, against his sisters’ wishes? Or marry a woman he doesn’t know, selected for him by his family? Complemented by a fantastically stirring soundtrack, Julia Furer’s wistful documentary explores the emotional complexity of long-distance relationships and culture clash in a globalized world.
Q&A Sept 30 & Oct 8
Supported by
Media Partner
Switzerland
2021
In Arabic, Berber, and English with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Three Colours: Blue
The first of Kieslowski's acclaimed Three Colours Trilogy, inspired by the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the French flag, the Tricolour. Blue stars Juliette Binoche as a young woman grieving her husband and child.
King Arthur's Night
John Bolton's film of Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef's musical staging recreates Camelot at Harrison Hot Springs. It's a self-referential piece which joyfully reframes a classical narrative through the prisms of disability, inclusivity, and imagination.
Whispers in the Woods
A luxuriant, healing immersion in nature with ravishing wildlife photography, this is the cinematic equivalent of "forest bathing," a trip deep into the Vosges, France, with photographer Vincent Munier (The Velvet Queen), his father and his son.
Dazed and Confused
The last day of high school in May, 1976: seniors debate party politics while next term's freshmen run the gauntlet of brutal initiation rites, barely comforted by the knowledge that they'll wield the stick one day.
Credits
Producer
Franziska Sonder, Stella Händler
Screenwriter
Julia Furer
Cinematography
Nathalie Kamber
Editor
Marielle Pohlmann
Original Music
Moritz Widrig
Director
Julia Furer
Julia Furer has a Bachelor of Arts from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In 2015, she received the Promotion Award of the zeugindesign Foundation for her documentary Julian. She has a Master’s in Film, specializing in documentary film, from Zurich University of the Arts. In 2022, she won the Swiss Film Award for Best Graduation Film for her first feature documentary, Love Will Come Later.