The Unknown Saint

Alaa Eddine Aljem | Morocco, France, Qatar | 2019 | 100'
Screenings
Section
Original title
Le miracle du saint inconnu
Synopsis
Moments before his capture by police, a thief digs a grave to hide a bag of money. Released from prison years later he returns to retrieve the bag, only to find a shrine to an Unknown Saint built directly over his loot, and a brand new village constructed all around it. A comedy with burlesque tones to describe contemporary Morocco, the victim of superstition and climate change.
Cast
Younes Bouab, Salah Bensalah, Bouchaib Essamak, Mohamed Naimane, Anas El Baz, Hassan Ben Bdida, Abdelghani Kitab, Ahmed Yarziz
Films Distribution
The Match Factory
Production
Le Moindre Geste Productions, Altamar Films
Editing
Alaa Eddine Aljem
Cinematography
Amine Berrada
Editing
Lillian Corbeille
Language
Arab
Subtitles
Italian
Premiere
Italian Premiere
Main awards
ICAM Award (Locarno Film Festival 2015 - Open Doors), Youth Jury Award (Valladolid International Film Festival), Best Sound and Best first feature (Tangier International Film Festival 2020)
Trailer
Images
Biography
Alaa Eddine Alijem trained at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Visuels in Marrakech and the Institut Supérieur des Arts in Brussels and made several short films: in 2015 The Desert Fish was selected in many film festivals and won the Grand Prize of the Jury, the Critics' Prize and the Best Screenplay Award at the Marrakech International Film Festival. The Unknown Saint is his first feature film: as a project in development he participated in 2015 in the Open Doors Lab of the Locarno Film Festival, where he won the ICAM (Investing in Culture & Art in the South Mediterranean) award. Nel 2016, Alijem takes part in La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde di Cannes e al Sundance Screenwriters' Lab. In the same year, he is listed by 'Screen International' magazine as one of the five Arab stars of the future.
Filmography
2019 – The Unknown Saint, ff
2015 – The Desert Fish, sf
2011 – Tribute, sf
2009 – National Education, sf
2008 – The Ritual, sf

Film

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