The Mother of All Lies

Filmmaker Asmae El Moudir takes an unorthodox approach for her reconstruction of a painful period in the history of her homeland Morocco, and of her own family. Her father has built a miniature replica of the house and neighborhood where she grew up. El Moudir situates family members and neighbors in this set, where they recount what happened during and after the Casablanca bread riots of 1981, which the government brutally crushed.

We discover that El Moudir’s fragile-looking but still-savvy grandma played an important and none too savory role during this oppressive period when liquidations, arrests, and torture were commonplace. The filmmaker’s questions, combined with the intimate but artificial setting of the scale model neighborhood, impel the interviewees to relive these events. This leads to painful recollections, new insights, and sometimes catharsis.

A forgotten history comes to life in the minutely detailed re-creation of the old houses and streets, complete with furniture, lighting and local characters.