A Door to the Sky

Director: Farida Benlyazid

1988 / 106min / DCP

Nadia, after living in France for many years, travels to Fez, Morocco, where her siblings, the modernized brother Riss and the traditional sister Leila, reunite to visit their dying father. Grappling with her identity, Nadia eschews the modern versus traditional dichotomy in favor of metaphysics and spiritualism, transforming her father's house into a zawiya, a place for Sufi women to interrogate together intersections such as Islam, feminism and Marxism. Georges Barsky's cinematography beautifully captures mosaic walls and sun-splashed landscapes, while Moufida Tlatli's deft editing weaves influential moments of Nadia's childhood with her present empowerment. Writer and Director Farida Benlyazid's A Door to the Sky, a controversial film upon its release, is an essential view of Morocco and the Muslim culture of its women.

A recent digital restoration of A Door to The Sky screens on Saturday, October 19th with Writer/Director Farida Benlyazid in person for a post-screening discussion with her biographer, Dr. Florence Martin.