Asmae El Moudir

The Postcard

Asmae El Moudir

Oum Eleid, Ouardiya

When director Asmae El Moudir finds an old picture postcard of a mountain village among her mother’s belongings, it brings a remarkable story to life. The picture is of Zawia, the village in Morocco that her mother left as a child and never returned to. El Moudir decides to go to this remote place. In Zawia, where time seems to have stood still, she embarks on a quest into her mother’s past, and thereby her own. She connects on a personal level with women and girls in the village; one of the young girls is Oum Elaid. The better El Moudir gets to know her and her family, the more she realizes how different her life would have been if her mother had stayed in the village. What begins as an intimate, personal journey in search of her family’s roots, evolves into a universal story about emancipation, migration, and the human longing to belong to a community.

Mémoires anachroniques ou le couscous du vendredi midi

Asmae El Moudir

A young girl recalls the communal Friday family dinners, a time of tradition and airing of diverse opinions. Recalling the history of Morocco and those who tried in earnest to affect change, the experiential nature of the film allows for an interesting perspective on a common story and setting. This film is an allegory of memory: an erratic recollection of shared experiences, feelings, and thoughts that shape a coherent narrative.