Zohra: A Moroccan Fairytale

Twenty-nine years after Hero, British filmmaker Barney Platts-Mills tells a story of forbidden love – a Romeo & Juliet narrative set against the background of the harsh social and economic realities of the Moroccan countryside. In accordance with local tradition, Zohra (14) is to be married off to an affluent older man, but then she meets 17-year-old refugee Ibrahim. Hiding in the village, the young people wait for the right moment to take a boat to Spain; a continuous storm and their unexpected love forces them both to ask themselves what they want from life. Platts-Mills serenades the beauty of the Moroccan landscape, but also reveals age-old generational conflicts and indirectly shows the crushing consequences of modern migration. Every day, the dreams of young people clash with the harsh realities of country life, and no one emerges from the struggle unscathed.

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