By turning his gaze towards the wounded family of two Tunisian brothers who left to fight in Syria for the Islamic State group, Meryam Joobeur launches a powerful cry of alarm about the devastating consequences of radicalization. Where we come fromhis first feature film, as intimate as it is universal, stands out as one of the flagship works in competition at the Berlinale.
At least that’s what critics’ reactions suggested at a press conference on Thursday morning, before the big premiere. A German journalist who had just come out of a press screening could not hold back her tears. “It’s so strong. I’m going to need time to get over it. »
If the film by the Montreal filmmaker of Tunisian origin proves so effective, it is because it detaches its subject from its political context and focuses on the family wounds caused by the departure of the two young men, Amine ( Chaker Mechergui) and Mehdi (Malek Mechergui).
One day, after being missing for several months, Mehdi comes home — without his brother. Rather, he is accompanied by a woman with whom he has just married. She is pregnant and wears the niqab. Mehdi’s father (Mohamed Grayaâ) has great difficulty accepting their union. He is angry at his son for leaving. His mother (Salha Nasraoui) is more conciliatory. She tries to protect the spouses – jihadist fighters risk prison. But she must confront her mother’s love with the atrocities her son teaches her about his time in ISIS forces.
“The more intimate we treat a subject, the more universal it becomes,” explains Meryam Joobeur in an interview. The themes of my film are difficult to address, but in the daily life of a family, they are much more tangible. »
From short to feature film
The filmmaker is clear: Where we come from is not a film about “a particular type of extremism”, but rather about “the roots of radicalization”. “I have always been interested,” she says, “by our dark sides, by the wounds that can make us violent if we are not vigilant. And today, we are witnessing a rise in extremist ideologies all over the world. »
She has continued her exploration of this delicate subject since Brotherhood (2018), his short film which was selected for the Oscars and which also portrays the return to his family of a Tunisian who left to fight with Daesh. The film had an exceptional run, after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
This is probably why producers from six countries, including Tunisia, France and Qatar, have joined the current project. “I knew from the start that the film would be an international co-production. It somehow reflects my own identity: I feel Tunisian, American and Quebecois at the same time. And I think that it shows in the way I look at my subject,” explains the filmmaker, a graduate of the Mel-Hoppenheim Film School at Concordia University.
Premonitory dreams
Meryam Joobeur was also inspired by his origins in his treatment of magic and dreams. Indeed, the mother has premonitory dreams, and the film oscillates between hallucinated visions and scenes from the real world. “In North African and sub-Saharan culture, we believe in magic more than in the Western world. For the inhabitants of the Tunisian village where I filmed, these elements are not far from reality. We truly believe in the ability of dreams to tell us about the future. »
The bluish images of Vincent Gonneville as director of photography reinforce the dreamlike elements of the story, particularly in the mist of the seaside village. “We especially chose colors that reflect the landscape, and we tried to imitate the old 35mm films with all the grain and texture that implies,” he explained at a press conference.
In this beautiful light, an actor bursts onto the screen: Rayen Mechergui, in the role of Adam, the youngest brother of Amine and Mehdi. Let us remember that the three brothers, in the cinema as in life, were also on the poster of Brotherhood. The ultimate symbol of the innocence of youth in a world prey to barbarism, Adam remained at home, protected by his mother. Her red hair and freckles stand out. “I didn’t choose my actors for this reason, but I think these traits, which we don’t necessarily associate with Muslims, can make my characters more accessible to other audiences […] It’s important, especially with such a subject,” underlines Meryam Joobeur.
In short, the story is poignant, the images sublime, and the actors moving. Will this be enough to earn this first feature film a place on the charts? There are only two days left for the jury chaired by Lupita Nyong’o to deliberate.
Olivier Du Ruisseau is staying in Berlin thanks to the support of the Berlinale and Telefilm Canada.