Casanegra (2008 | 130m)
Directed by Nour-Eddine Lakhmari
Special event organized by the Yale PIER Summer Institute, including 15 minute Q&A with Nour-Eddine Lakhmari facilited by Ziad Bentahar, Towson University
Venue: Whitney Humanities Center (WHC)
In Casablanca, two childhood friends, Adil and Karim, live a hand-to-mouth existence while dreaming of how their lives will change. One begins to sell cigarettes and tries to put his life back on the right tracks. The other seeks a miracle to solve all his problems: he buys a visa and gets a contract to work in Malmö, Sweden, the mythical city he dreamed of ever since seeing it on a postcard.
Moroccan-born Nour-Eddine Lakhmari is an award-winning director/writer of feature films and TV series. He shot his first short films in Oslo and earned admission to The Oslo Cinema Academy. His first feature film Le regard was released in 2005 to wide critical acclaim in Morocco and Scandinavia. In 2006-2008, Lakhmari directed the outstanding TV series El Kadia, primetime broadcast on the Moroccan TV channel 2M. In 2008, he made an impact on the Moroccan, Arab, and Mediterranean film industries with his second feature film CasaNegra. The feature won 21 international awards, was presented in 25 major film festivals and was selected for representing Morocco at the 2010 Academy Awards (Oscars). Lakhmari’s feature, Zero, was awarded best film in his homeland for year 2013 and was the Box Office No.1 in 2013. The film also won awards for best directing and best actor in the Mediterranean Film Festival in March 2013. His most recent film, Burn Out, will be released in 2017.