When Personal Docudrama is an Act and Art of Protest
Asmae El Moudir’s docudrama, The Mother of All Lies, passes this social message: protest isn’t solely the physical act of raising placards and fists. Protest, as the film relentlessly shows, can be as trivial as remembering and talking about one’s pain when the state is actively trying to suppress the existence of that pain.
The making of Asmae El Moudir’s documentary, The Mother of All Lies, started with a pair of related and supposedly casual questions: Why are there no pictures in her parents’ house? Why aren’t pictures of family members allowed in the family? Why do we erase memories? These throbbing questions led El Moudir—who has multiple credits as a writer, producer, and director of the documentary—to embark on a decade-long journey of seeking answers. In her unrelenting quest for answers, she soon realized that her family wasn’t the only one that had consciously banned pictures. Friends and neighbours in her community also have a distrust of holding pictures. Ostracizing pictures from the household is a deliberate and conscious act of keeping a troubling memory at bay.
By the time El Moudir completely finds satisfying answers, ten years have elapsed. The documentary, made by a small-knit people, has been screened at various international film festivals attracting critical acclaim and attention—the docudrama was Morocco’s selection for the international feature category at the just concluded Oscars. After the film’s world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, where it clinched the directing prize, the film had continually won laurels and audiences to itself.
Screening at the Spotlight Section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it was available for both virtual and in-person viewing, the documentary opens its door to another international audience. Made by the Paris and Rabat-based director, screenwriter, and producer, The Mother of All Lies interrogates the nefarious deeds of government officials and how they actively try to obliterate their acts. The parallel between personal stories and national ones is a strong angle the documentary explores. Watching how the documentary’s subjects recount past incidents, El Moudir demonstrates her adept directorial skills by illustrating the interconnectedness between the subjects’ personal stories and her own, as a conscientious filmmaker, with the political story of the documentary...
Every year, The Republic publishes the most ambitious writing focused on Africa, from news and analysis to long-form features.
To continue reading this article, Register for a one-week free trial.
Already a subscriber? Log in.