STRAWBERRIES
(Les Fraises)
TRUFFAUT THEATER – 1:05 pm
(Screening ends at 2:50 pm)
drama
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 8
Followed by a conversation with writer/director Laïla Marrakchi
Lucky Number
Los Angeles Premiere | France, Morocco, Spain, Belgium | 2026 | Drama | Morocco’s Official 2027 Oscar Entry | 101 min | In Arabic and Spanish with English subtitles
Directed by: Laïla Marrakchi
Written by: Laïla Marrakchi, Delphine Agut
Produced by: Juliette Schrameck (Lumen), Thomas Verhaegue & Mathieu Verhaegue (Atelier de Production), France 3 Cinéma
Cinematography: Tristan Galand
Original Score: Clara de Asis
Film Editing: Jean-François Elie, Nicolas Chaudeurge
Cast: Nisrin Erradi (Hasna), Hajar Graigaa (Meriem), Fatima Attif (Khadija), Larbi Mohammed Ajbar (Ali), Fran Cantos (Nacho), Itsaso Arana (Pilar)
International Sales: Lucky Number
Synopsis
Hasna dreams of a better life in her native Morocco, where she can buy a home for her children. She applies for a job picking strawberries in Spain for slave wages. But to do so, she must first provide a passport, family records, a blood test, her husband’s authorization, and proof of a clean criminal record. However, that’s just an introduction to the legal disempowerment, inhumane conditions, humiliation, victimization and sexual exploitation these female migrant workers must endure… until they overcome their fears, speak their truth, and embrace the solidarity to survive that ordeal together.
Director’s bio
Born in Casablanca, Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Laïla Marrakchi began by directing two documentary shorts. Her first narrative short, L’horizon perdu (2000), won the Best Short Film award in Torino, and Deux cents dirhams (2002) premiered in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Marock (2005), her first feature, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes and won the Audience Award at the Sarlat Film Festival. She went on to direct the feature Rock the Casbah (2013), the TV movie Zwaj El Waqt (2017), and various episodes of the series Marseille (2018), The Bureau (2015-2018) The Eddy (2020), L’Opéra (COLCOA 2021) and Carème (2025). Strawberries premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and is Morocco’s Best International Film submission for the 2027 Academy Awards.
