Dark Star Pictures has allowed us to debut an exclusive clip from the acclaimed sci-fi film Animalia, a New Visions award winner at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Written and directed by French-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui, the female-led film is based on Alaoui’s short film What if the Goats Die, itself a Grand Jury Prize award winner at Sundance in 2020.
The film centers on a pregnant Moroccan woman who finds her life turned upside down after a mysterious supernatural event leaves her separated from her new family.
Leading the cast are Oumaïma Barid as Itto, Mehdi Dehbi, Fouad Oughaou, and Souad Khouyi.
Here’s the synopsis: Itto, a young woman from a modest rural background, is slowly adapting to the Moroccan privileged codes of her husband’s family. But when supernatural events put the country in a state of emergency, Itto finds herself separated from her husband and new family. Alone, pregnant and looking for her way back, she finds emancipation.
In this clip, Itto faces the mysterious alien threat, wading into the thick fog with no idea what lurks on the other side.
While the language and the culture are obviously different, this footage has a vibe similar to Arrival, which could be interesting.
Animalia is available now On Demand and Digital!