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Rabat — Elias Suhail never imagined that the stories his mother told him about leaving Morocco would become the foundation of an internationally acclaimed film.
Now, the British-Moroccan writer and director finds himself nominated for two awards at the Marrakech Short Film Festival with “Beneath a Mother’s Feet.”
The film is the director’s deeply personal work that captures his mother’s journey as a young single mother.
As the pandemic lockdown threw its shadow on the world, Suhail got his most-needed push to finally pursue his filmmaking dreams.
“I had long aspired to write and direct, but it was during the pandemic lockdown that I finally began to put pen to paper,” he said in an interview with Morocco World News (MWN).
What started as scattered vignettes, in his words, soon evolved into something much larger.
“I started by capturing scenes I’d long carried in my mind from stories passed down about my mother’s experience of leaving Morocco,” Suhail said.
He mixed these family stories with his memories of summers spent with his grandparents in M’diq, a city in Northern Morocco, along with local folkloric and traditional elements that have always fascinated him.
Finding truth in small moments
Suhail built his film around the smallest details of his mother’s experience, as he believes that it is the simple routine aspects of life that make life.
“I’ve long felt it is in the seemingly ordinary, everyday details that a life reveals itself, and I wanted to honor that,” he explained.
He compared his approach to creating zellij, the intricate Moroccan tilework, piecing together his mother’s testimony, his own memories, and imagined details to fill the gaps.
The filmmaker wove in folkloric tales about djinn not as decoration but as essential story elements, as he learned from old stories that grandparents tell their grandchildren to sleep. “These were elements that deepened and served the story, rooted in the cultural and oral traditions I grew up with,” he said.
A homecoming through film
Participating in the Marrakech Short Film Festival holds special meaning for Suhail. “I’m deeply honored and excited that the film has been selected, and genuinely awed that we’re up for two awards,” he proudly noted.
“There’s something deeply meaningful about not only participating in a festival in Morocco, but in one as prestigious as the Marrakech Short Film Festival.”
For Suhail, the festival represents more than just recognition — it feels like coming home. “It feels like a homecoming of sorts,” he noted.
He looks forward to connecting with other filmmakers from the region and seeing how Moroccan audiences respond to his personal story told in the film.
Exploring complex characters
As an emerging filmmaker, Suhail prioritises following his instincts when choosing projects to work on.
His upcoming feature, “The Ogress of Fez,” represents another step in his evolving career. He sees a clear pattern in his work: “I’m drawn to exploring difficult moral dilemmas and complex, often contradictory characters.”
The filmmaker focuses on how circumstances, histories, and inner conflicts shape the choices people make.
“I’m fascinated by how the choices we make are shaped by our circumstances, histories, and inner conflicts, and I’m drawn to exploring that tension in whatever form or genre feels right for the story,” he explained.
Bridging cultures through universal stories
Suhail’s work has traveled from Toronto to Tangier, giving him an international and rich perspective on storytelling.
However, he feels immense pride in his Moroccan and Maghrebi heritage, and his film serves as a way to honor that legacy.
“Having been raised in the diaspora, my exploration of these narratives, both within my family’s history and beyond, serves as a bridge to connect with an identity I cherish deeply,” he noted.
Suhail believes the Maghreb holds countless untold stories that deserve exploration with nuance and sensitivity. What strikes him most about international film festival audiences is how stories transcend borders to reach people from different cultures.
“While this is my mother’s unique story, it’s also a universal tale of single motherhood, of facing impossible choices… whether to stay or to leave, to endure or to risk everything for change,” Suhail reflected.
“These human experiences create connections that span continents and cultures.”
Through “Beneath a Mother’s Feet,” Suhail has discovered that the most personal stories often speak to the widest audiences, proving that authentic storytelling knows no boundaries.
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