A thousand monthS
by Faouzi Bensaïdi

WITH : Fouad Labied, Nezha Rahil et Mohammed Majd
Production : 2003 – 124’ – In coproduction with Agora Films (Morroco), Entre Chien et Loup (Belgium), ZDF / ARTE, RTBF, Soread, Studio El Orch (Morroco)
French distribution : MK2 Diffusion
International sales : Fortissimo Films Sales

FestivalS

Cannes Festival 2003 “Un Certain Regard” : Youth Award, “Premier Regard” Award

Grand Prize and Jury Prier, Milan

Grand Jury Prize, Best Dramatic Feature, Miami

Best Arab Film and Silver “First Alphabet” Award, Damascus

Special Jury Prize, Namur

Special Jury Prize, Alexandria

Best Director, Beirut

Special Jury Prize, Ajaccio

Ecumenical Prize, Fribourg

Best Screenplay, Angers

Synopsis
1981 – Morocco – The month of Ramadan. With her seven-year-old son, Mehdi, Amina moves in with her father-in-law, Ahmed, in a village in the heart of the Atlas Mountains. Mehdi’s father is in prison but the boy believes that he has gone to work in France: his mother and grandfather maintain this illusion for his sake. At school, Mehdi has the privileged task of looking after the teacher’s chair. His relationship with the village, his friends and the world revolves around this object. Sparing Mehdi is Amina and Ahmed’s main concern, but at what cost? The fragile balance of their lives threatens to explode every day…