PAPICHA
| 2019 – 105′ – Drama – Written and Directed by Mounia Meddour.
Starring Lyna Khoudri, Shirine Boutella, Amira Hilda Douaouda.
Official Entry From Algeria ©Academy Awards 2020.
North American Premiere COLCOA 2019.
In Arabic and French with English Subtitles.
A Distrib Films U.S. release. |
Nedjma (Lyna Khoudri starring in Wes Anderson’s upcoming ‘The French Dispatch’) is a university student during the Algerian Civil War. Although she’s studying French, her passion is fashion design. Defying religious conservatism, she custom-makes dresses for her peers that are examples of individual expression. Attacks on civilians are on the rise from fundamentalist Islamist sects, and a shocking incident drives Nedjma to stage a unique protest: a fashion show centered around repurposing the haik, a traditional veil, into secular garments.