The exquisite film, The Mother of All Lies, directed by Asmae El Moudir, premiered in the UK this week at Sheffield Doc Fest.
Set in Morocco, and using incredible miniature clay figurines and a replica of her childhood neighbourhood in Casablanca crafted by her father, El Moudir tells the story of her family and community during the 1981 Bread Riots when many were killed or imprisoned. Along with her father, she invites her mother, grandmother and two former neighbours to revisit this moment, share their memories, and possibly to heal from their trauma. Moving between the space this group occupies for what appears to be an extended period of voluntary togetherness and cohabitation where the miniatures are created (what El Moudir has called an atelier or laboratory) and the world of the miniatures themselves, powerful storytelling ensues.
El Moudir opens her narrative with an evocative personal anecdote of the forbidding of all family photographs by her oppressive, dictatorial grandmother (referring to her as a neighbourhood customs officer), matriarch and ruler of their household. She recounts the night of her childhood rebellion - without any photographs of herself (and by extension, for her, without her own memories) El Moudir sneaks out of her house to the photo centre to have her picture taken against the 90s in vogue Hawaiian background, hiding and keeping this photograph for herself.
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