Severed Head
Fall Grants 2018 - Production Stage
Lotfi Achour / Feature Narrative / Tunisia, France, Qatar / 2020 / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama, Social Issues, Fantasy, Based on a True Story
Synopsis
Two young shepherds, Nizar (16), and his cousin Achraf (14) are grazing their goats on a meadow, high in a mountainous region in the Central West of Tunisia. This area has become a militarised zone, prohibited to civilians since it began serving as a hideout for Jihadist groups. Unaware of their misjudgment, the two shepherds are violently attacked and Achraf loses consciousness. When Achraf wakes up, he sees Nizar’s body lying inanimately beside him, as one of the terrorists kicks a round mass towards him, telling him to bring it back to their family. Achraf discovers with horror, that it is his cousin’s severed head. After some hesitation, full of pain and fear, Achraf finally places the severed head in his bag and carries his terrible burden down the mountain. He finds the courage to perform his abhorrent duty with Rahma’s support, his 13-year-old cousin. The victim’s family will try to recover the teenager’s body at all costs, as they refuse to bury him without his body.
Credits
- Director
- Lotfi Achour
- Screenwriter
- Lotfi Achour, Natacha de Pontcharra
- Producer
- Anissa Daoud, Lotfi Achour
- Production Company
- Artistes Producteurs Associés
About the Director
A theatre and cinema director, Lotfi Achour directed more than twenty-five theatrical productions in London, Paris, Tunis, Avignon and beyond. His last play was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company for the London Olympics and he was the author of an installation for the 2006 Nuit Blanche in Paris. In film, Achour directed four award-winning short films that screened from Clermont-Ferrand to Tokyo, including the 2016 César Awards nominated ‘Father’ and 'Law of the lamb', selected in the Official Competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and the 2017 César Awards ceremony. ’Burning Hope' (2017) is his first feature film. Achour is currently working on a documentary project and his next fiction feature film, ‘Severed Head’.
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Lotfi Achour
- Company:
- Artistes Producteurs Associés
- Phone:
- +21623333617
- Email:
- lotfiachour.apa@gmail.com
-
Main Contact
Anissa Daoud
- Company:
- Artistes Producteurs Associés
- Phone:
- +21623267982
- Email:
- artistes.producteurs.associes@gmail.com