Agate mousse
Photography, sex, reproduction and the power of minerals merge into one in this aesthetic alleviation of fear of the finite.
68'
Lebanon
IFFR 2021
Nada is a young woman leading a double life. During the daytime she’s quiet and reserved, but after dark she dives into the nightlife of Tunis and picks up men. First, she lets them tell their stories – as she doesn’t speak, she acts as a kind of confidante – then beats the hell out of them. When a new colleague, Noura, arrives at her workplace and Nada finds a mythical knife at the home of one of her victims, events are unleashed over which Nada has less and less control.
Black Medusa is not only a portrait of an angry young woman in post-revolutionary Tunisia. The directors also sketch a portrait of Tunis: a city that combines cold, faceless office buildings with exuberant night life. Above all, they offer us a unique, innovative view of contemporary Tunisia. Using Nada’s double life of monotony and violence as a metaphor, the film explores the more underlying concerns and sorrows of a generation.
During the nine nights in this story, the makers switch genres with ease: from a film noir featuring a mysterious femme fatale to an Italian giallo with a serial killer on the prowl, to even a sprinkling of fantasy. The striking Black Medusa consciously breaks with the stylistic elements usual in North African cinema in the same way as Nada breaks the rules of society in order to liberate herself.
IFFR 2021
Programme IFFR 2021
IFFR’s trademark competition celebrates the innovative and adventurous spirit of up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the world.
Still: Friends and Strangers
Read more about this programmePhotography, sex, reproduction and the power of minerals merge into one in this aesthetic alleviation of fear of the finite.
68'
Lebanon
IFFR 2021
A young model returns to the Georgian countryside, where a confrontation with her past offers hope for the future.
118'
Georgia
IFFR 2021
Chinese road movie with Western elements in crisp black-and-white about a woman, a lobster and a great sorrow.
111'
China
IFFR 2021