Published: July 06, 2023| 09:53 AM

Director Sofia Alaoui was absent at the Sundance premiere of Animalia because she had just had a baby. The screening at the Pupp Cinema in Karlovy Vary is thus the first occasion for her to present the film in person.

“Rather than a common science fiction, this is a story about inner strength and courage,” she told the audience at the opening. The film covers mysterious events that start to unsettle Morocco. Animals behave peculiarly, strange phenomena appear in the sky and certain areas are closed off by the army. The main character, a pregnant woman, is left alone to face the events.

There is a philosophical undertone to the story. “Before science came on the scene, many things were incomprehensible to people. My intention was to show civilization that has again become lost in the dark” the director explained.