10th edition CIFF – 10-14 April 2024

A Wedding (Noces) (2017 Feature Film)

Stephan Streker | Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Pakistan | 2016 | 95 min | French, Urdu | e.s.

The strong bond between Zahira and her parents is tested when an arranged marriage with a Pakistani man is set up as tradition decrees. She faces a heart-rending dilemma. Convincing portrait of the conundrums facing second generation immigrants that unfolds like a Greek tragedy in contemporary Brussels.

“We should move with the times”, says Zahira’s mother, smiling. Zahira is 18 and is allowed to Skype (very modern!) from her parental home in Belgium with three suitors in Pakistan. Zahira has her doubts, but wants to keep her parents happy. After all, their family ties are deep and loving. However, there are irreconcilable differences between her parents’ expectations and traditions and Zahira’s Western lifestyle. Torn between two worlds, an unexpected pregnancy adds an additional, complicating factor to this young, independent woman’s life. Zahira faces an impossible conundrum and a tragic choice.

Actress Lina El Arabi manages to convey Zahira’s emotional life in just a glance. Director and scriptwriter Stephan Streker captures this in strong close-ups, outlining the milieu and dilemmas of various generations of migrants in a nuanced, sharply observed manner.

Place: CINEMA 6

Date: 7 April 2017

Time: 13:00

Duration: 1:13

Place: CINEMA 4

Date: 8 April 2017

Time: 21:15

Duration: 1:12

Place: CINEMA 4

Date: 9 April 2017

Time: 19:45

Duration: 1:10

Year in
Festival

2017

Director

Stephan Streker

Camera

Grimm Vanderkerckhove

Cast

Lina El Arabi
Sébastien Houbani
Babak Karimi
Neena Kulkarni
Olivier Gourmet
Alice de Lencquesaing
Zacharie Chasseriaud

Country

Belgium
France
Luxembourg
Pakistan

Editor

Jerome Guoit
Mathilde Myard

Language

French
Urdu

Length

95 min

Producer

Michaël Goldberg
Boris van Gils

Production Company

Daylight Films

Sales

Jour2Fêt

Scenario

Stephan Streker

Sound Design

Nicolas Tran Trong

Year of Production

2016

Stephan STREKER (1964, Belgium) worked as a photographer, film critic and sports reporter before moving onto filmmaking. He made his directorial debut in 1993 with the short film Shadow Boxing. Since then, he has made two more short films and three feature-length films. Le monde nous appartient (2013) was nominated for a Belgian Magritte Award for Best Picture. A Wedding (Noces) (2016) is his third feature.

 

Filmography

Shadow Boxing (1993, short), Mathilde, la femme de Pierre (1996, short), Le jour du combat (1998, short doc), Michael Blanco (2004), Le monde nous appartient (2013), A Wedding (Noces) (2016)