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Sundance Winner Sofia Alaoui to Tackle Eco-Anxieties in Apocalyptic Thriller ‘Tarfaya’: ‘This World Is Full of Poetry and Melancholy’ (EXCLUSIVE)


The 'Animalia' director lists Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Wong Kar-wai and her own eco-anxieties as inspiration for upcoming, apocalyptic thriller.

Recently honored as one of Unifrance ’s 10 to Watch, Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui will build on the rugged eeriness of her 2023 Sundance jury prize winner “Animalia” with “Tarfaya” – a slow-burn thriller that mines Morocco’s sweeping landscapes for ambient unease. Named for (and inspired by) a remote, coastal town on the country’s Saharan border, “Tarfaya” imagines a not-too-distant world of extreme atmospheric swings, of severe heat giving way to more intense storms, all while daily life trudges on. Having recently signed with WME, the filmmaker is now busier than ever, developing the TV project “Let the Earth Burn” with Paris-based Barney Production (“Hounds”) and circling her English-language debut with a sci-fi-tinged literary adaptation to be announced shortly.

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