Papicha (2019)
Papicha
”An Algerian fashion student defies conservative bans and puts on a fashion show.”
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Why watch this film?
Selected at Cannes, awarded with the César for Best First Feature (by Franco-Algerian director Mounia Meddour) and for Most Promising Actress (Lyna Khoudri, whom we saw in Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch'), 'Papicha: Beautiful Girl' is a tribute to political resistance and female empowerment against oppression. The story follows a young fashion student and her friends in Algeria during the 90s, when the country fell into the hands of Islamic fundamentalist groups and women were repressed under the rules of an archaic regime that forced them to wear hijab. It's a tragic drama, which effervesces with a hopeful feminine energy that compensates for its somewhat predictable, yet enjoyable plot.
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Plot summary
Nedjma, an 18 year-old student passionate about fashion design refuses to let the tragic events of the Algerian Civil War to keep her from experiencing a normal life. As the social climate becomes more conservative, she rejects the new bans set by the radicals and decides to put on a fashion show.
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From the same director
Houria
Mounia Meddour surprised in 2019 when she debuted as a feature director with the powerful, real, and emotional Papicha, which shows the drama of a young student suffering from the effects of the Algerian Civil War. It's a punch to the gut. Four years later, Meddour returns to directing with her second feature film Dancing in the Silence. Many things here are similar: the setting in Algeria, the focus on victim Lyna Khoudri, and above all, the desire to be a beacon in a society suffering from a very strong structural machismo, violence, and impunity for terrorists. To do this, Meddour puts at the center of the story a dancer (Khoudri) who, after an attempted robbery, begins to face physical effects that not only take her away from ballet, but also take away her voice. From then on, Houria, this strong protagonist, begins to understand her relationship with dance in a film that, even with such a specific theme, still finds space to talk about the social ills of Algeria and the impunity of this aggressor who seems to go unpunished for his crimes. It is not as impactful as Papicha, but it still disturbs and makes you think.
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