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
The Secret Agent
Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.
Cutting Through Rocks
Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.
Fantasia
Walt Disney pushed the boundaries of animation and sound recording when he put together a movie concert: eight classical pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Stravinski et al, each animated in a different style. It's playful, sometimes cute, other times inspired.
Image: © Disney, 1940
The Baltimorons
An early Xmas present and the rom-com of the year: a dental emergency on Christmas Eve brings together flailing comedian Chris and cynical divorcee Didi for a series of low-key urban misadventures.
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.