I Still Hide to Smoke
Film poster; a woman sitting naked on a stone slab in a Turkish bath, smoking a cigarette. The view is from the side, the woman's head is between her knees, and she looks like she is crying.
À mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer
Directed byRayhana Obermeyer
Produced byMichèle Ray-Gavras
Fenia Cossovitsa
Salem Brahimi
StarringHiam Abbass, Fadila Belkebla, Nadia Kaci
CinematographyOlympia Mytilinaiou
Mohamed Tayeb Laggoune
Music byAnne-Sophie Versnaeyen
Distributed byLes Films du Losange
Release dates
  • 18 November 2016 (2016-11-18) (Tallinn Black Nights)
  • 26 April 2017 (2017-04-26) (France)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryFrance/Greece/Algeria
LanguageArabic

I Still Hide to Smoke (French: À mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer; lit. 'At my age I still hide to smoke') is a 2016 French-Greek-Algerian drama film directed by Rayhana Obermeyer. The film premiered at the 2016 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.[1]

Plot

Fatima is a strong-willed woman who works as a masseuse in a hamam in Algiers. The year is 1995, and the situation in the capital is tense, as laws are being passed limiting women's freedoms. But the hammam is a safe place to roll a cigarette or talk, away from the eyes of men. Women from different backgrounds gather there, and talk about their lives.

On her way to work one day, Fatima witnesses a terror attack. In the hamam, rather than feeling safe, the atmosphere is electric and she finds it difficult to maintain order. The situation deteriorates when Meriem arrives at the hamam. Meriem is 16 years old and pregnant, and seeking refuge. Shortly thereafter, her brother Muhammad arrives, to "cleanse" his honor with blood.

Cast

  • Hiam Abbass as Fatima
  • Biyouna as Aïcha
  • Fadila Belkebla as Samia
  • Nassima Benchicou as Zahia
  • Nadia Kaci as Keltoum
  • Sarah Layssac as Nadia
  • Lina Soualem as Meriem
  • Maymouna as Louisa
  • Faroudja Amazit as Madame Mouni
  • Fethi Galleze as Mohamed

Production

The film is an adaptation from Obermeyer's play of the same name, from 2009.[2] Obermeyer first came up with the idea for the play and film in the early 1990s, following the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) massive win in Algeria's first-ever "free and democratic" elections. As soon as the FIS took power, the party established Islamist rules against women, including dress codes, and segregation between men and women in public places (schools, hospitals, store lines, and bus stops).[3]

According to Rayhana, as the film's director is widely known, the film is about a woman's desires in a man's world.[4] Rayhana, who is also an actress, playwright and screenwriter, is a feminist who uses her art to protest injustice.[5] Because of her outspokenness, her film is banned from showing in her home country of Algeria. "My movie is forbidden in my country, because I speak about women who express freely... Anyone who wears pants or shirts with half sleeves is considered a prostitute."[4] She said that a woman who smokes is considered to have bad morals. “But smoking is for everyone, man or woman.” Rayhana herself fled Algeria in 2000, following terrorist attacks in which many of her friends were killed.[4]

Filming

Due to the nude scenes in the film, the production could not use a hamam in Algeria or Turkey. Instead, they chose to film in a hamam in Thessaloniki, Greece.[6]

Reception

The film received universal accolades, and has been screened at international film festivals around the world. According to the Hollywood Reporter's Jordan Mintzer, Smoke is a "fairly gripping account of women finding respite in each other’s company at a time, and in a place, where they have few possibilities to express themselves freely."[7] Amal Awad, reviewing the film for Australia's SBS, called it a "thrilling tale" and "It’s a reminder of why we watch stories".[8]

Accolades

Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
2016 Thessaloniki Film Festival Golden Alexander Rayhana Obermeyer Nominated [9]
Audience Award I Still Hide to Smoke Won
2017 Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival Critic's Award [10]
Grand Prix
Raindance Film Festival Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature Rayhana Obermeyer [11]

Further reading

  • Vincent Thabourey, "À mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer", Positif, Vol. 675, May 2017, Paris, Institut Lumière/Actes Sud, p. 53, ISSN 0048-4911.

References

  1. ↑ "PÖFF". 2016.poff.ee. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. ↑ Frédéric Strauss (April 2017). "A mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer par Rayhana Obermeyer". Telerama (France) (in French). Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  3. ↑ Vincent Ostria (April 21, 2017). "Huis clos théâtral sur les dilemmes de la condition féminine au Maghreb". Les in Rocks (in French). Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Ravi, Archana (December 10, 2017). "It's my right to smoke: Rayhana Obermeyer". The Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Rayhana Obermeyer". Arab Film Festival Australia. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  6. ↑ "À mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer - Secrets de tournage". Allocine (in French). 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ Mintzer, Jordan (May 30, 2017). "'I Still Hide to Smoke': Film Review". the Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  8. ↑ Awad, Amal (August 23, 2017). "The catharsis of authentic Arab filmmaking". SBS. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  9. ↑ Mintzer, Jordan (May 30, 2017). "'I Still Hide to Smoke': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "Rayhana and Kaouther Ben Hania come out on top at the 17th Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Award Winners 2017 - 25th Raindance Film Festival". 28 September 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
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