''Animalia'' is a 2023 French-Moroccan

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

film directed by

Sofia Alaoui Sofia Alaoui (born 1990 in Casablanca) is a French-Moroccan director and screenwriter. She is best known for her short film '' Qu'importe si les bêtes meurent.'' Biography Born in Casablanca to a Moroccan father and a French mother, she grew u ...

in her feature directorial debut, based on Alaoui's short film ''So What If the Goats Die''. The movie follows Itto (Oumaïma Barid), a pregnant woman who attempts to reunite with her husband Amine (

Mehdi Dehbi Mehdi Dehbi (born 5 December 1985) is a Belgian actor and theatre director, known for his roles in ' (2009, English title: ''He is My Girl''), ' (2011), '' Le Fils de l'Autre'' (2012, English title: ''The Other Son''), ''Mary Queen of Scots'' (20 ...

) as extraterrestrial occurrences in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

cause the country to descend into chaos. The film had its world premiere at the

2023 Sundance Film Festival The 2023 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to 29, 2023. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 7, 2022. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * ''The Accidental Getaway Driver'', directed by Sing J. Lee * ...

, on 20 January 2023. The film had a positive reception, with critics particularly praising the direction, the performances of Barid and Dehbi, and the score.

Cast

* Oumaïma Barid as Itto *

as Amine * Fouad Oughaou as Fouad * Souad Khouyi

Production

The

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

concluded in November 2021 after thirty five days of filming. ''Animalia'' is produced by Wrong Films and SRAB Films, and co-produced by

ARTE France Cinéma Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

and the Moroccan companies Jiango Films and Dounia Productions. The film was produced under the working title ''Parmi nous'' ( 'Among Us'). International sales are handled by Totem Films.

Release

''Animalia'' had its world premiere at the

, on 20 January 2023. It was theatrically released in France by Ad Vitam Distribution on 9 August 2023.

Reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds a 100% approval rating based on 20 critics' reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. At the

2023 Calgary International Film Festival The 2023 edition of the Calgary International Film Festival, the 24th edition in the event's history, took place from September 21 to October 1, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The festival opened with ''Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life'', a d ...

, the film won the award for Best International Feature Film.Aryn Toombs
"Winners of 2023 CIFF competitions unveiled"
''LiveWire Calgary'', 25 September 2023.

References

2023 directorial debut films 2023 science fiction films 2023 films 2020s French-language films 2020s Arabic-language films Berber-language films Films set in Morocco French pregnancy films 2020s pregnancy films Alien visitations in films Ad Vitam (company) films Arte France Cinéma films

External links

* {{IMDb title, 17006040