Oliver Laxe | Spain, Morocco, France and Qatar 2016, 93 minutes |
7pm, Sunday 17 July
Mimosas is born of the union between an adventure film and the portrayal of a worldly mysticism, which is a daring and risky approach that has spawned other brilliant works like Jauja by Lisandro Alonso and Honour of the Knights and Birdsong by Albert Serra.
– Carlota Mosegul, Cineuropa
In the High Atlas Mountains at an indeterminate time in the past, a caravan of travellers searches for a pass that will allow them to return an ailing elderly Sufi master to his home to die. Among the party is rascal and survivor Ahmed, who is willing to do whatever it takes to rise up from his miserable condition. Particularly inspired by the Sufi master and his wife, Ahmed becomes aware of his own innate abilities upon the old man’s death, and takes up the leadership of the group. On his journey, he receives the assistance of Shakib, a young man sent on a mission from a special place in contemporary Morocco.
Stunningly lensed by Mauro Herce, director of QFF 2016 film Dead Slow Ahead, this breakthrough second feature from Oliver Laxe is both an exploration of Sufi spiritualism and an examination of agency. The shooting of Mimosas is also the subject of QFF 2016 film THE SKY TREMBLES AND THE EARTH IS AFRAID AND THE TWO EYES ARE NOT BROTHERS, with Laxe that film’s star, and both films sharing an interest in power relations, whether of director or guide.
D Oliver Laxe S Oliver Laxe C Mauro Herce E Cristóbal Fernández
P Lamia Chraibi, Julie Gayet, Felipe Lage, Michel Merkt and Nadia Turincev
Language: Arabic with English Subtitles
Distribution: Luxbox DCP
Unrated 15 +
Winner of the Grand Prize at the 2016 Cannes Critics Week.