Archive of films Unknown Saint / Le miracle du Saint Inconnu
Morocco / France / Qatar
2019, 100 min
Section:
Another View
Year: 2019
Just before being caught by the police, a fleeing thief buries his loot in the sand and disguises the hiding place as a grave. When he’s released from prison several years later, he discovers that the grave has become a shrine to an unknown saint, and that it is surrounded by a village that lives off his veneration. A Moroccan comedy about faith, mammon, and miraculous healing.
Synopsis
After spending several years behind bars, a thief returns to collect his loot. In the meantime, though, the site of his buried money bag has become a mausoleum to an unknown saint, revered by the local villagers and believers from afar who come to benefit from his miraculous healing powers. The thief just wants his money back, but someone interrupts him whenever he tries to sneak into the mausoleum. And then doubts begin to gnaw at him: can he really plunder a saint’s tomb even if there’s no saint in it? Such is the faith of the locals that they even forget to tend to their land. A comedy that poses a fundamental question: if God neglects to give a sign, can people conjure it up for themselves?
Nikola Paggio
About the director
Alaa Eddine Aljem (b. 1988, Rabat, Morocco). Selected filmography: The Ritual (2008, short), National Education (2009, short), Tribute (2011, short), Hout Essahra (2015, doc.), The Desert Fish (2015, short), The Unknown Saint (Le miracle du Saint Inconnu, 2019)
Contacts
The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Tel: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.the-match-factory.com
About the film
Color, DCP
Section: | Another View |
---|---|
Director: | Alaa Eddine Aljem |
Screenplay: | Alaa Eddine Aljem |
Dir. of Photography: | Amine Berrada |
Music: | Amine Bouhafa |
Editor: | Lilian Corbeille |
Art Director: | Kaouttar Haddioui |
Producer: | Francesca Duca, Alexa Rivero |
Production: | Le Moindre Geste Productions, Altamar Films |
Coproduction: | The Match Factory, Schortcut, Chadwell International Ltd, Condor Distribution |
Cast: | Younes Bouab, Salah Bensalah, Bouchaib Essamak, Mohamed Naimane |
Sales: | The Match Factory |
Guests
Alaa Eddine Aljem
Film Director