Introduced by Rabih El-Khoury, SAFAR Film Festival Curator

Itto, a young woman from a modest rural background, is slowly adapting to the Moroccan privileged codes of her husband’s family. But when supernatural events put the country in a state of emergency, Itto finds herself separated from her husband and new family. Alone, pregnant and looking for her way back, she finds emancipation.

Sofia Alaoui has directed both documentary and fiction shorts that have been selected at many festivals. Her last film, So What If The Goats Die, which screened at SAFAR in 2021, was shot in the Atlas Mountains, featuring non-professional actors and dialogue exclusively in Tamazight. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020, and the César for best short fiction film in 2021. Animalia is her first feature film.

“Director Sofia Alaoui delivers a compellingly different cultural and social perspective on a classic sci-fi premise in Animalia” – Variety

Winner: Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award Creative Vision