''A Wedding'' (french: Noces) is a 2016 internationally co-produced drama film directed by

Stephan Streker Stephan Streker is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. Biography Stephan Streker was born in Brussels, and first became a journalist with the aim of meeting the people he admired most in the world – filmmakers. In this capacity, he pub ...

. It was screened in the Discovery section at the

2016 Toronto International Film Festival The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown. Awards The festival's final awards were ...

. It received eight nominations at the 8th Magritte Awards, including Best Film and

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

for Streker, and won two. It is based on the

honour killing of Sadia Sheikh The honour killing of Sadia Sheikh occurred on 22 October 2007, when a 20-year-old Belgian woman of Pakistani heritage was fatally shot by her brother, an act of sororicide. The murder occurred in Lodelinsart, Charleroi. Sheikh had left her fam ...

. Streker described the film as a

Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

Story

A Belgian-Pakistani woman named Zahira Kazim, now 18 years old, breaks up with her boyfriend (who is also of Pakistani ancestry) when he says he does not want a child after she becomes pregnant. Her parents, meanwhile, ask her to choose between three candidates for marriage, all based in Pakistan, and she is uninterested in all of them. Instead she falls in love with a Belgian man, Pierre, and decides to get an abortion in the Netherlands after initially being unable to go through with one. Her friend Aurore and Aurore's father André help her as the relationship between herself and her family deteriorates over their attempts to make her agree to a forced marriage: she moves in with Aurore after her father starts a fight at her school. Zahira comes back to her family after her Barcelona-based sister, Hina Kazim, pleads with her to come back, and she goes through with a wedding to a French-speaking Pakistani man over Skype. However she leaves again when told she will fly to Pakistan for a second wedding and that Hina will go to Pakistan instead of returning to Spain; Zahira spends time with Pierre. Her father, Mansoor Kazim, experiences medical problems due to the stress. Zahira comes back to her house one last time to say goodbye, but her brother Amir Kazim fatally shoots her, an act of sororicide and an honour killing, whilst hugging her. As photographs of crime scene exhibits are on the screen, a voiceover of a farewell letter addressed to her family occurs.

Cast

Lina El Arabi Lina El Arabi (born 11 August 1995) is a French actress of Moroccan heritage. Biography El Arabi was born in Choisy-le-Roi, France, in 1995. At age six, she began playing violin at the Choisy-le-Roi conservatory, and at ten, she got involved i ...

as Zahira Kazim ** Streker described her as an " Antigone of her time" and "a character enriched by two cultures that, rather than cancelling one another out, add to one another." She is a Muslim and remains so even after eloping with Pierre. * as Amir Kazim *

Babak Karimi Babak Karimi ( fa, بابک کریمی, born 1960) is a Czech-Iranian actor. For his role in ''A Separation'', he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in 2011. Filmography Film * ''Tickets'' (2 ...

as Mansoor Kazim ** Jay Weissberg of '' Variety'' stated that Streker "also scrupulously tries to present Mansoor as a loving father tied to a rigid code of honor which will destroy his entire family if shirked" but that he "succeeds only fitfully." Karimi never speaks in any of his native languages in this film and is the only actor with this situation. * Neena Kulkarni as Yelda Kazim ** Kulkarni stated that Yelda is "not a villain at all" but instead as someone "caught in circumstances" and "stuck to her fanaticism or beliefs." Kulkarni added that "despite staying in elgium eldadoesn't integrate into that country at all." *

Olivier Gourmet Olivier Gourmet (born 22 July 1963) is a Belgian actor. Gourmet was born in Namur. He won the Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in '' Le Fils'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. He also appeared in ''La Promesse'' ...

as André *

Alice de Lencquesaing Alice de Lencquesaing (; born 11 August 1991) is a French actress who appeared in Mia Hansen-Løve's 2009 film '' Father of My Children'' with her father Louis-Do de Lencquesaing. Her mother is cinematographer Caroline Champetier Caroline Champe ...

as Aurore * as Pierre *

Aurora Marion Aurora Marion (born 22 December 1985) is a Belgian stage and film actress. She began working in theatre after developing an interest in acting, before making her film debut in ''Almayer's Folly (film), Almayer's Folly'' (2011), which earned her a ...

as Hina Kazim ** The Sheikh case did not involve an older sister; the writer created an older sister character for the fictional story. *

Harmandeep Palminder Harmandeep Palminder (born September 4, 1996) is a French actor of Punjabi origin. Biography Harmandeep Palminder was born in a Sikh Punjabi family in Blanc-Mesnil but spent his childhood and adolescence in Aulnay-sous-Bois, in the Île-de-Franc ...

as Adnan * Sandor Funtek as Frank The actor playing the

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

character was in real life an imam and was of Pakistani heritage.

Development

It is a co-production of the following: the Belgian firms Daylight and Minds Meet, the French firm Formosa Productions, the Luxembourgish firm Tarantula Films, and the Pakistani firm Bodhicitta Works. Streker stated that he did not feel inspired by the Sheikh murder until his discovery that the killer, her brother, loved his sister. As it was based on a real case, a lawyer reviewed the script to ensure that it was compliant with

Belgian law The legal system of Belgium is based on the Napoleonic code. The Napoleonic code is the French civil code which was issued between 1804 and 1810. It clearly presents the French legal system. Belgium’s constitution is influenced by earlier const ...

. Streker added that he did not want to have obvious villains, quoting

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...

, who stated, in Streker's words "there were never any bad guys in his films because each of them always had his reasons." Streker used a consultant to ensure depictions of Pakistani culture were accurate. The final actress he cast was El Arabi even though he initially believed the role would be the first one filled. Desiring an "

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

" for the Zahira role, he specified this aspect in capital letters, and added that she was "une des plus grandes actrices qui ait jamais existé" ("one of the greatest actresses who ever existed"). He also wanted someone who was Francophone, about 18 years old, and a person who would be credible as a Belgian Pakistani. Streker stated that he had such specific requirements that he could not find an actress of actual Pakistani heritage; instead he chose an actress of Moroccan heritage. He initially did not especially notice El Arabi but some videotapes of her already done convinced him she could fill the role, and he ordered a second audition for her. He stated that in every scene, Zahira's point of view was in the opening and ending. As part of the filming she had to learn some Urdu. Streker is personally friends with Gourmet and already knew him. He learned about Houbani through one of his acquaintances. In regards to Karimi, Streker decided to use him after he found out that Karimi, who he was familiar with from watching the film '' A Separation'', spoke French.

Release

The film premiered on 24 August 2016, in the and was also scheduled to show in the Toronto International Film Festival.

Reviews

Weissberg stated that despite the fact the director "strives hard to offer a balanced view of a traditional family in Belgium forcing their daughter into an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

, yet in the end he delivers an issue-of-the-week cautionary tale that, though well-made, hits far too many expected buttons." However he stated that the performance of the lead actress compensated for this issue. '' The Hollywood Reporter'' concluded it is "A probing family drama carried by a strong multicultural cast."

Accolades

References

External links

*
A Wedding
' - Tarantula Films
French page
*
Noces
' at Jour2Fete (international distributor) *
Noces
'' at Jour2Fete France * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wedding, A 2016 films 2016 drama films 2010s French-language films 2010s Urdu-language films Belgian drama films French drama films Luxembourgian drama films Pakistani drama films Honor killing in Europe Forced marriage Sororicide in fiction Films about marriage Films about honor killing French interfaith romance films 2010s French films