Volubilis

Volubilis is the name of the ruins of a Roman city outside the Moroccan city of Meknes. Volubilis, the film, is a tale about love in a world of class divisions, unequally distributed resources, and social forces that are tearing people apart. Abdelkader and Malika are newlyweds, and they struggle to make ends meet. For now, they live with Malika’s parents, but they dream of moving for themselves and starting their life for real - alone, together. Abdelkader is proud of his job as a security guard at the local shopping center, and Malika catches a glimpse into the life of the super-rich through her work as a maid. Then one day, everything seems to go wrong. Abdelkader, in his eagerness to prevent unauthorized people access to the mall, puts his hand on the wife of one of the most powerful men in Meknes. In a society where money and power means everything, will there be any mercy for the poor Abdelkader?

Faouzi Bensaïdi is a well-known director, actor and artist from Morocco. His first feature film, A Thousand Months, was screened in Cannes in 2003. WWW – What a Wonderful World premiered at the Toronto film festival in 2006, and was screened in Norwegian cinemas. Bensaïdi was a guest at the Films From the South Festival in 2012, with his film Death for Sale. Volubilis is Bensaïdi’s fourth film. He is our guest at this year’s festival both as the director and actor in Volubilis, and as an actor in the Algerian film The Blessed.