Animalia (film)
{{Short description|2023 film by Sofia Alaoui}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Animalia
| image = Animalia 2023 film poster.png
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| native_name = {{infobox name module|fr|Parmi nous|translation=Among Us}}
| director = Sofia Alaoui
| writer = Sofia Alaoui
| producer = {{plainlist|
- Margaux Lorier
- Toufik Ayadi
- Christophe Barral
}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
- Oumaïma Barid
- Mehdi Dehbi
- Fouad Oughaou
}}
| cinematography = Noé Bach
| editing = Héloïse Pelloquet
| music = Amine Bouhafa
| production_companies = {{plainlist|
- Wrong Films
- SRAB Films
- Dounia Productions
- Jiango Films
- ARTE France Cinéma
}}
| distributor = Ad Vitam Distribution
| released = {{film date|df=yes|2023|1|20|Sundance|2023|8|9|France}}
| runtime = 91 minutes
| country = {{plainlist|
- France
- Morocco: locations Imilchil, Khouribga, Casablanca
}}
| language = {{plainlist|
}}
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Animalia is a 2023 French-Moroccan science fiction film directed by Sofia Alaoui 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) as extraterrestrial occurrences in Morocco southeast of Casablanca cause the country to descend into chaos.
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, 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.{{Cite web |last=Khairy |first=Wael |date=March 2, 2023 |title=The Oneness of All Things: On Sofia Alaoui’s Animalia |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/the-oneness-of-all-things-on-sofia-alaouis-animalia |access-date=March 22, 2024 |website=RogerEbert.com}}{{Cite web |last=Kiang |first=Jessica |date=January 20, 2023 |title=‘Animalia’ Review: Aliens Invade the Art-house in an Impressively Atmospheric and Enigmatic Feature Debut |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/animalia-review-parmi-nous-1235491276/ |access-date=March 22, 2024 |website=Variety}}
Cast
- Oumaïma Barid as Itto
- Mehdi Dehbi as Amine
- Fouad Oughaou as Fouad
- Souad Khouyi as Hajar
Production
The principal photography concluded in November 2021 after thirty five days of filming.{{cite web|url=https://www.cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/414012/|title=EXCLUSIVE: Sofia Alaoui's Animalia is now in post-production|work=Cineuropa|date=25 November 2021|access-date=27 January 2023|first=Fabien|last=Lemercier}} Animalia is produced by Wrong Films and SRAB Films,{{cite web|url=https://wrongfilms.com/parmi-nous/|title=Animalia|date=February 2023 |publisher=Wrong Films|language=fr|access-date=11 August 2023}} and co-produced by ARTE France Cinéma and the Moroccan companies Jiango Films and Dounia Productions.{{cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/437071/|title=Review: Animalia|last=Lemercier|first=Fabien|date=23 January 2023|website=Cineuropa|access-date=11 August 2023}} The film was produced under the working title Parmi nous ({{lit}} 'Among Us').{{cite magazine|last=San Frax|first=Julien|date=3 August 2023|title=Bienvenue au Maroc, dans un film de SF mystique|url=https://www.causeur.fr/bienvenue-au-maroc-dans-un-film-de-sf-mystique-264324|magazine=Causeur|language=fr|access-date=2 February 2024}} International sales are handled by Totem Films.
Release
Animalia had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, on 20 January 2023.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/12/sundance-film-festival-2023-lineup-1235191713/|title=Sundance Film Festival Lineup Set With Ukraine War, Little Richard, Michael J. Fox, Judy Blume Docs; Pics With Anne Hathaway, Emilia Clarke, Jonathan Majors; More|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=7 December 2022|access-date=27 January 2023|first1=Anthony|last1=D'Alessandro|first2=Dominic|last2=Patten}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/435863/|title=An in-person Sundance returns with a raft of rising European voices|work=Cineuropa|first=Martin|last=Kudláč|date=8 December 2022|access-date=27 January 2023}} It was theatrically released in France by Ad Vitam Distribution on 9 August 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnc.fr/cinema/actualites/animalia---les-avantages-de-voyager-en-train---un-coup-de-maitre---les-films-de-la-semaine-aides-par-le-cnc_2008425|title=Animalia, Les Avantages de voyager en train, Un coup de maître... : les films de la semaine aidés par le CNC|date=7 August 2023|publisher=CNC|language=fr|access-date=10 August 2023}}
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 100% approval rating based on 20 critics' reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.{{Cite web |title=Animalia|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/animalia|access-date=2 February 2024 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango Media}}
At the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival, the film won the award for Best International Feature Film.Aryn Toombs, [https://livewirecalgary.com/2023/09/25/winners-of-2023-ciff-competitions-unveiled/ "Winners of 2023 CIFF competitions unveiled"]. LiveWire Calgary, 25 September 2023.
References
{{reflist}}
Category:2023 directorial debut films
Category:2023 science fiction films
Category:2020s French-language films
Category:2020s Arabic-language films
Category:Berber-language films
Category:French pregnancy films
Category:2020s pregnancy films
Category:Films about alien visitations
External links
- {{IMDb title|17006040}}