Zanka Contact

Zanka Contact is a 2020 Moroccan film directed by Ismael El Iraki.[1][2][3][4] Described as a Wild at Heart-type love story with debts to Quentin Tarantino and Sergio Leone,[5] the film was inspired by El Iraki's emotional journey and recovery after he found himself in the midst of the horrors of the 2015 Bataclan attacks in Paris.[6][7][8][9][10] Following a screening at the 77th Venice International Film Festival[11] where the film's lead actress, Moroccan singer Khansa Batma, won the Venice Orizzonti Award for Best Actress,[12] the film went on to be selected for over thirty international festivals and won several awards through its festival run 2020 to 2022.[13] Among them, Zanka Contact was awarded the Golden Tutankhamun Award for best feature film at the Luxor African Film Festival.

Zanka Contact
Directed byIsmael El Iraki
Written byIsmaël el Iraki
StarringKhansa Batma, Ahmed Hammoud, Saïd Bey
CinematographyBenjamin Rufi
Edited byCamille Mouton
Music byAlexandre Tartière, Neyl Nejjai
Release date
2020
Running time
120 minutes
CountriesFrance, Morocco, Belgium
LanguagesArabic, English

Synopsis

Has-been rockstar Larsen Snake returns to his native Casablanca where he meets Rajae, a street girl with a golden voice. The two madly fall in love, but their passion is quickly overtaken by their past, and the wild couple takes to the desert to escape their demons.

Release

El Iraki kept many of the cast and crew from his shorts (including actors Said Bey and Mourad Zaoui) on his first feature Zanka Contact, also known under the French release title Burning Casablanca. The movie premiered in 2020 in the official selection of the 77th Venice International Film Festival. The lead actress Khansa Batma won the Lion for Best ActressOrizzonti section.

Despite being premiered in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie still obtained many selections in international festivals around the world : Busan International film festival, São Paulo International Film Festival or Mostra, Karlovy Vary International Film festival and many more. Shot on 35mm film in a CinemaScopeAnamorphic, Zanka Contact went on to win several international awards among which the Best Film Award at the Luxor African Film Festival . Zanka Contact was theatrically released in France on November 3, 2021 under the changed title Burning Casablanca. Director explained that the change was decided with the French distributor during the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid sounding like the french phrase "cas contact", which refers to someone who had close contact with a Covid-19 case. The film beneficiated from a wave of support from film critics in France and did well theatrically for a post-COVID release.

The Moroccan release took place on December 1, 2021 to critic and commercial acclaim. 10 months later in September 2022, Zanka Contact participated in the Tangier National Film Festival and won Best Film and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for actress Fatima Attif.

Cast

Festivals and Awards

References
  1. "Biennale Cinema 2020 | Zanka Contact". La Biennale di Venezia. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  2. "Rencontre avec Ismaël El Iraki : " Ce qui est intéressant, c'est de voir comment de victime tu deviens survivant " - Maze.fr". Maze (in French). 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  3. "Zanka Contact (2020)". en.unifrance.org. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  4. "Zanka Contact". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  5. Aftab, Kaleem (2020-09-07). "'I'm surrounded by ghosts': Bataclan survivor Ismaël El Iraki on his film Zanka Contact". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  6. Aftab, Kaleem (2020-09-07). "'I'm surrounded by ghosts': Bataclan survivor Ismaël El Iraki on his film Zanka Contact". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  7. "Ismael El Iraki". Afrique magazine (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  8. "Cinéma : Zanka Contact, des cauchemars au rêve éveillé d'Ismaël El Iraki". Telquel.ma (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  9. "Ismaël El Iraki : " Burning Casablanca est le seul film que je pouvais faire en sortant vivant du Bataclan "". Premiere.fr (in French). 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  10. Croll, Ben (2020-10-11). "'Zanka Contact' Director Subverts Genre Moviemaking to Explore PTSD". Variety. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  11. ""Zanka Contact" d'Ismaël El Iraki, coup de cœur de la Mostra de Venise". RFI (in French). 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  12. Firdaous, Kawtar (2021-04-30). "Cinéma. "Zanka Contact" d'Ismaïl El Iraki primé en France". LobservateurDuMaroc (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  13. MATIN, O. B, LE. "Le Matin - "Zankat Contact" d'Ismaïl El Iraki sélectionné dans six festivals internationaux". Le Matin (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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