Asmae El Moudir took on the herculean task of writing, producing, directing, editing and narrating her film “The Mother of All Lies” herself, as executive film and media editor…
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
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Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Asmae El Moudir took on the herculean task of writing, producing, directing, editing and narrating her film “The Mother of All Lies” herself, as executive film and media editor Tatiana Siegel pointed out to the Moroccan filmmaker at the Variety Lounge presented by Film AlUla at the Red Sea Film Festival.
In El Moudir’s deeply personal film, she traces her family history to uncover a tangle of lies, which connect to the country’s history as well, merging the political and personal. The genesis of “The Mother of All Lies” began in 2012 when she wondered, “Why we have no pictures in the family.” She discussed how crafting a story involving the people in her own home was initially difficult.
“In 2016 I started to link the personal story and the national story and at that time I understood that my little family stories were only symptoms of other big ones,” the creator said. “I started to ask the same question in the family and on the national level. But as I started with one picture, I finished with 500 hours of rushes — who’s going to edit this? Nobody can take the time.”
With that said, El Moudir took on the role of editor and created “The Mother of All Lies” largely on her own, a decision that also relates to the film’s sensitive and personal subject matter.
The director’s grandmother plays a prominent role in the film. Siegel inquired how she convinced the matriarch — who doesn’t even like to be photographed — to be featured on screen. El Moudir shared that at one point, her grandmother was resistant to shooting not long before she was set to be on camera.
“It was very hard…I [brought] three pictures of Moroccan actresses, I said ‘Just choose one because I have no choice for now.’ After two hours she called me and said, ‘No, this is my story.'”
Just like that, there was no need for an actress to replace her. El Moudir continued to discuss the importance of casting non-actors in her story.
“I took the risk to wait for my characters who are not professional actors just to play themselves, just to tell their stories because in the film there is a sensitive story, traumatic story and I cannot give it to another one. I should listen to these people who were here in that event because the idea also was bring all these people to [the] space, let them talk freely about the past and then maybe it’s going to be therapy of one of them.”
El Moudir acknowledges that she shot her film in an unconventional way: “So it was not the normal way how we make films, it was very free. I took 10 years to think about it, to think about my dispositive film because I was also afraid how we can talk about real facts, real stories, sensitive ones without looking for guilty people or denouncing anyone. But just looking for the relationship to the truth and how we invent stories when we don’t have any concrete or visual proof of what has happened.”
“The Mother of All Lies” is currently seeking U.S. distribution. Watch the full conversation above.