**POSTPONED** Film screening: "Bab Al-Sama Maftuh (A Door to the Sky)" (Morocco, 1988)

Date: 

Wednesday, April 1, 2020, 4:30pm to 6:00pm

Location: 

Belfer Case Study Rm, S020, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02138

The CMES Meet the Director Series presents

Scene from Bab Al-Sama MaftuhBab Al-Sama Maftuh (Morocco, 1988)
(Door to the Sky; Une porte sur le ciel) written and directed by Farida Benlyazid

Please note: due to University precautions surrounding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 2019) outbreak, this event has been **POSTPONED**  

Free admission, open to the public.

A Door to the Sky (Bab Al-Sama Maftuh; Une porte sur le ciel) is an empowering feminist tale of the spiritual and cultural awakening of a Franco-Moroccan woman. After years in France, Nadia returns to her family home in Fez as her father approaches death. Distancing herself from her French identity, she embraces the path of Sufism and her Moroccan cultural heritage in her quest for self and succeeds in transforming the home into a zawiya, a shelter and spiritual haven for women. A Door to the Sky, which mixes social reality with the mystical and the magical, was Benlyazid’s first feature film.

In Arabic with English subtitles, 107 min. Directed by Farida Benlyazid. Cast: Zaki-yah Tahiri, Eva Saint Paul, Shuaybiyah Adhrawi, Bashir Sukayrij, Ahmad al-Buanani.

After the screening, celebrated Moroccan filmmaker, Farida Benlyazid, will be present to discuss the film.

Farida Benlyazid is a Moroccan scriptwriter, producer, production manager, novelist, and director. She began working in the field of cinema and cinematic production in the seventies. According to Sandra Gayle Carter, author of What Moroccan Cinema? : A Historical and Critical Study, Benlyazid continues to be one of the few Moroccan women in the field. From the start of her career up until 2003, she was the only female filmmaker in Morocco. Benlyazid's films, novel adaptations, documentaries and scripts have garnered much international recognition. She has become known for representing the struggles and obstacles faced by Moroccan women and incorporating her own personal experiences into her scripts and films. She is currently working on a documentary about her late friend, feminist Fatema Mernissi.

Co-sponsor: Worcester Polytechnic Institute Film Series
Contact: Liz Flanagan