Winner—Special Jury Prize – International Feature Documentary
In the expansive desert east of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, where seasonal rain and snow once supported livestock and nomadic traditions, an extended drought caused by the climate crisis never seems to end. Despite generating a tiny carbon footprint, the Oulad Boukais tribe deal with the threat of environmental collapse every day. So, to ensure their children's future, they establish a school. Shot over three years, this optimistic story emphasizes potential, opportunity and improvement over the harsh realities of unemployment, illiteracy, loss of tradition and desertification and accentuates the positives—the children's excitement to learn, an altruistic teacher's exuberance to teach and a community's adaptation to change. Along with students Mohamed, Miloud and Fatima, the desert itself is a character, communicating its vastness, endurance and power, with powerful cinematic pacing and style, as both a lesson and motivation for both the tribe and the film's audience. Angie Driscoll
International Spectrum program supported by
MEDIA COVERAGE
- La Estatuilla - "Educates and raises awareness about the problem"