''I Still Hide to Smoke'' (french: À mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer; ) is a 2016 French-Greek-Algerian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Rayhana Obermeyer Rayhana Obermeyer (born November 1, 1963), also known as Rayhana, is an Algerian actress, comedienne and playwright and director. Biography Obermeyer was born in Algeria. She moved to France at age 36 in 2000 and began pursuing an acting career th ...

. The film premiered at the 2016

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF ( et, Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only festival in Northern Europe or the Baltic region with a FIA ...

Plot

Fatima is a strong-willed woman who works as a masseuse in a

hamam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. The year is 1995, and the situation in the capital is tense, as laws are being passed limiting women's freedoms. But the hammam is a safe place to roll a cigarette or talk, away from the eyes of men. Women from different backgrounds gather there, and talk about their lives. On her way to work one day, Fatima witnesses a terror attack. In the hamam, rather than feeling safe, the atmosphere is electric and she finds it difficult to maintain order. The situation deteriorates when Meriem arrives at the hamam. Meriem is 16 years old and pregnant, and seeking refuge. Shortly thereafter, her brother Muhammad arrives, to "cleanse" his honor with blood.

Cast

Hiam Abbass Hiam Abbass ( ar, هيام عباس, he, היאם עבאס; born 30 November 1960), also Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian actress and film director. Personal life Hiam Abbass was born in Nazareth, Israel, to a Muslim Arab family. She was raised ...

as Fatima *

Biyouna Baya Bouzar ( ar, باية بوزار, 13 September 1952), known by the stage name Biyouna () is an Algerian singer, dancer, actress born in Belcourt, now known as Belouizdad, Algiers, Algeria. Early life Having a very early passion for singin ...

as Aïcha * Fadila Belkebla as Samia * Nassima Benchicou as Zahia *

Nadia Kaci Nadia Kaci (; born 1970) is an Algerian actress. Biography Kaci was raised in Algiers by a mother who was "colorful, illiterate, and cultured". She taught her daughter feminism from a young age and played darbouka for the seven children. At age ...

as Keltoum * Sarah Layssac as Nadia * Lina Soualem as Meriem * Maymouna as Louisa * Faroudja Amazit as Madame Mouni * Fethi Galleze as Mohamed

Production

The film is an adaptation from Obermeyer's play of the same name, from 2009. Obermeyer first came up with the idea for the play and film in the early 1990s, following the

Islamic Salvation Front The Islamic Salvation Front ( ar, الجبهة الإسلامية للإنقاذ, al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyah lil-Inqādh; french: Front Islamique du Salut, FIS) was an Islamist political party in Algeria. The party had two major leaders representi ...

(FIS) massive win in Algeria's first-ever "free and democratic" elections. As soon as the FIS took power, the party established Islamist rules against women, including dress codes, and segregation between men and women in public places (schools, hospitals, store lines, and bus stops). According to Rayhana, as the film's director is widely known, the film is about a woman's desires in a man's world. Rayhana, who is also an actress, playwright and screenwriter, is a feminist who uses her art to protest injustice. Because of her outspokenness, her film is banned from showing in her home country of Algeria. "My movie is forbidden in my country, because I speak about women who express freely... Anyone who wears pants or shirts with half sleeves is considered a prostitute." She said that a woman who smokes is considered to have bad morals. “But smoking is for everyone, man or woman.” Rayhana herself fled Algeria in 2000, following terrorist attacks in which many of her friends were killed.

Filming

Due to the

nude scenes In film, nudity may be either graphic or suggestive, such as when a person appears to be naked but is covered by a sheet. Since the birth of film, depictions of any form of sexuality have been controversial, and in the case of most nude scen ...

in the film, the production could not use a hamam in Algeria or Turkey. Instead, they chose to film in a hamam in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, Greece.

Reception

The film received universal accolades, and has been screened at international film festivals around the world. According to

the Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

's Jordan Mintzer, ''Smoke'' is a "fairly gripping account of women finding respite in each other’s company at a time, and in a place, where they have few possibilities to express themselves freely." Amal Awad, reviewing the film for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's SBS, called it a "thrilling tale" and "It’s a reminder of why we watch stories".

Accolades

, - , rowspan=2, 2016 , rowspan=2,

Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its y ...

, Golden Alexander , Rayhana Obermeyer , , rowspan=2, , - , Audience Award , rowspan=3, ''I Still Hide to Smoke'' , rowspan=4 , - , rowspan=3, 2017 , rowspan=2, Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival , Critic's Award , rowspan=2, , - , Grand Prix , - ,

Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove to ...

, Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature , Rayhana Obermeyer ,

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2016 films 2016 drama films 2010s feminist films French drama films Greek drama films 2010s Greek films Algerian drama films 2010s Arabic-language films 2010s French films