Jmar

by Samy Sidali

France
2020
19 min
OV Arabic - French subtitles
Short film
Fiction
Color
DCP

The film crew will be attending

In competition 2021

Official synopsis

Jmar alchahwa جمر الشهوة: a piece of red coal. It’s a metaphor used to describe a feeling that warms up, gives pleasure but can hurt if you get too close.

On the beach of Mohammedia, a small coastal town in Morocco, Khaled sells horse rides to passers-by. He hangs out with his friends; they are in their twenties and fantasize about a sexuality that is forbidden to them. That day, Khaled meets someone and finds himself caught between the reality of his world and a burning desire that he can’t control.

The programmer’s eye

In the zenith of a Camusian sun, yet with a touristy Moroccan town as a backdrop, instead of the cramped streets of Tipasa, Khaled reveals himself, a mute and precarious character whose desires are inaudible. “Jmar” is a story about frustration, a growing fever leading to an explosion. The film works around creating confusion, adding the dull reality of labor to the lyricism of the beach. Disorder is contagious in this clever debut film. — Pierre Guidez

Biography and Filmography

Samy Sidali was born in 1989 in Paris to Moroccan parents. When he was 18, he went to study cinema at the University of the Arts London. His graduation film, “The Things I Do For You”, was presented as part of a selection on the IdeasTap platform sponsored by the BAFTA in 2014. He worked as a director of institutional films and documentaries for two years, most often abroad. In 2020, Samy directed his first short produced film (Mabel Films): “Jmar”. He’s currently developing several projects - both fiction and documentary - in France and Morocco.

2020 - JMAR (Short) - Samy Sidali - Director, Screenwriter
2014 - THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU (Short) - Samy Sidali - Director, Screenwriter

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Samy Sidali was born in 1989 in Paris to Moroccan parents. When he was 18, he went to study cinema at the University of the Arts London. His graduation film, “The Things I Do For You”, was presented as part of a selection on the IdeasTap platform sponsored by the BAFTA in 2014. He worked as a director of institutional films and documentaries for two years, most often abroad. In 2020, Samy directed his first short produced film (Mabel Films): “Jmar”. He’s currently developing several projects - both fiction and documentary - in France and Morocco.

2020 - JMAR (Short) - Samy Sidali - Director, Screenwriter
2014 - THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU (Short) - Samy Sidali - Director, Screenwriter