Beauty and the Dogs (Aala Kef Ifrit)
New Voices in Cinema
/ Feature Narrative / Tunisia, France, Sweden, Norway, Lebanon, Switzerland, Germany, Qatar / 2017 / Colour
Rated: Mature subject matter. Not suitable for minors. Individuals under the age of 18 are not admitted into cinemas.
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Synopsis
Mariam wants to have a nice night out, so she takes to the dancefloor at the benefit she has organised. She makes friends with Youssef, and they go for a walk. Then, she is savagely attacked by some policemen. Despite the trauma she has experienced, she is determined to obtain the medical certificate needed to sue her attackers. With this goal in mind, she finds herself in the absurd and exasperating situation of needing to obtain documentation for her case.
It seems no one, from doctors and nurses to police officers and cab drivers, has any sympathy for another person who is in distress; neither are they willing to show her the simplest kindness. Mariam cannot even go home: she has lost her purse, Youssef has no cash, and besides, the curfew of the dorm where she lives has come and gone.
‘Beauty and the Dogs’ is a deeply moving tale of a woman who, in the most undignified of situations, insists on maintaining her dignity and demanding some of humanity’s most basic rights: the right to be heard, to expose the truth, and to see justice served.