''Inch'Allah Dimanche'' (, ) is a

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

French/Algerian film written and directed by

Yamina Benguigui Yamina Benguigui (born Yamina Zora Belaïdi; in Lille on 9 April 1955) is a French film director and politician of Algerian descent. She is known for her films on gender issues in the North African (both Berbers in France, Berbers and Arabs in F ...

. It is the director's first feature-length fiction film, and the story is centred around the life of an Algerian immigrant woman in France. The film won a number of awards, including the

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the worl ...

at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

Cast

*Fejria Deliba – Zouina *Rabia Mokeddem – Aïcha, mother *

Amina Annabi Amina Annabi (; born 5 March 1962) is a French-Tunisian singer-songwriter and actress. She finished second in the tied 1991 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Rome, after a countback, scoring equal 146 points alongside Carola from Sweden. Early ...

– Malika *Anass Behri – Ali *Hamza Dubuih – Rachid *

Zinedine Soualem Zinedine Soualem (born 17 April 1957) is a French actor. He has appeared in at least five films directed by Cédric Klapisch. Personal life Soualem is Algerian by ancestry, and was at one point married to the actress Hiam Abbass Hiam Abb ...

– Ahmed *

Mathilde Seigner Mathilde Seigner (born 17 January 1968) is a French actress. Early life Seigner was born in Paris. She is the granddaughter of actor Louis Seigner (1903–1991). She is the sister of Emmanuelle Seigner and a niece of Françoise Seigner. ...

– Nicole Briat *

Marie-France Pisier Marie-France Pisier (10 May 194424 April 2011) was a French actress, screenwriter, and director. She appeared in numerous films of the French New Wave, and twice earned the national César Award for César Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best ...

– Manant *France Darry – Mrs. Donze (neighbor) * Roger Dumas – Mr. Donze (neighbor) *

Jalil Lespert Jalil Lespert (born 11 May 1976) is a French actor, screenwriter and director. He has been described as "one of the best actors of his generation." Early life and education Lespert was born in Paris to a Pied-Noir, ''pied-noir'' father, actor J ...

– Bus driver

Plot

Zouina's husband, Ahmed, left Algeria in the 1970s to work in France. As part of the French government's Family Reunification law passed by Prime Minister

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

in 1974, Zouina is allowed to move to France from Algeria in order to join her husband, Ahmed. After tearfully leaving her mother behind, Zouina, her mother-in-law, Aicha, and their three children move to France. Zouina struggles to cope with life in a new country and different culture but becomes a prisoner to the tyranny of Aicha and her husband's failures to protect her. Zouina also encounters a host of neighbors, some of which intensify the alienation she feels in her new home but many who extend their hand in friendship. Sunday, when her Ahmed routinely takes his mother out for the day, Zouina and the children are able to explore and search for another Algerian family and genuine human contact. Zouina ultimately finds this family after three weeks but suffers a rejection that mirrors being ripped from her home in Algeria and general rejection from her new home in France. Through her journey Zouina gains her own strength, revels in the community of women she finds home in and is comforted by the emerging feminist dialogue she receives through radio talk shows like Ménie Grégoire.

Production

This is Beguigui's first feature-length fiction film, and is based on her family's experience moving to France, as well as the struggles for autonomy Algerian women continue to face. Although she was urged to change the name of the film after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, she chose to keep the original title, a portion of which is in

Algerian Arabic Algerian Arabic (, romanized: ), natively known as , or , is a variety of Arabic spoken in Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum and is mostly intelligible with the Tunisian and Moroccan dialects. Darja () means "eve ...

Music

The film contains a variety of French, Algerian Arabic, and

Kabyle language Kabyle () or Kabylian (; native name: ''Taqbaylit'' ) is a Berber languages, Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people in the north and northeast of Algeria. It is spoken primarily in Kabylia Estimating the number of Berber speakers is very ...

music. Many of the tracks are performed by Algerian musician

Idir Idir may refer to: People * Ali Idir (born 1966), Algerian judoka * Idir (singer) (1949–2020), Algerian singer-songwriter and musician * Idir Khourta (born 1986), French-born Algerian table tennis player * Idir Ouali (born 1988), French-Algerian ...

. #"Ageggig" – Idir (A. Mouhed, Idir) #"Al Laïl" – Alain Blesing (Alain Blesing) #"

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

" –

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

(

Jerry Lordan Jeremiah Patrick Lordan (30 April 1934 – 24 July 1995) was an English songwriter, composer and singer. He had three hit singles on the UK Singles Chart before focusing purely on songwriting. Amongst his songwriting credits were the cha ...

) #"Isefra" – Idir (M. Benhammadouche, Idir) #"Djebel" – Aziz Bekhti #"Cenud" – Nourredine Chenoud #"Snitraw" – Idir #"Le Premier Bonheur du Jour" –

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in F ...

(Franck Gerald, Jean Renard) #"Djin" – Alain Blesing #"Temzi (Mon Enfance)" – Hamou (Hamou, Ben Mohamed, Eric Amah, Caroline Pascaud-Blandin) #"Sssendu" – Idir #"Raoul" –

Souad Massi Souad Massi (; born August 23, 1972) is an Algerian Berber singer, songwriter and guitarist. She began her career performing in the Kabyle political rock band Atakor, before leaving the country following a series of death threats. In 1999, Massi ...

Release

''Inch'Allah Dimanche'' had its world premiere on September 14, 2001, at

. It was also screened at the International Festival of Women in Cinema (then at

Arcachon Arcachon (; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Gironde. It is a popular seaside resort on the Atlantic coast southwest of Bordeaux, in the Landes forest. It has a sandy beach and a mild climate said to be favourable for p ...

; later moved and renamed Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema),

Marrakech International Film Festival The Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) (, Amazigh: ⴰⵏⵎⵓⴳⴳⴰⵔ ⴰⴳⵔⴰⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵏ ⵍⴼⵉⵍⵎ ⴳ ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ) is an international film festival held annually in Marrakech, Morocco. It was established i ...

Amiens International Film Festival Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, Reel Dame Film Festival,

Crossroads Film Festival The Crossroads Film Festival is an independent film festival that takes place annually around the Jackson metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The second oldest film festival in Mississippi, Crossroads Film Festival focuses on in ...

, and

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled ...

. The film was released in cinemas across France on December 5, 2001, and played 79 cinemas across three weeks.

Reception

''Inch'Allah Dimanche'' received mixed reviews. Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

only showed two critics' reviews, giving it a score of 71%. Lisa Nesselson of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' worte "Narrative is often bittersweet but never dreary. Nicely rendered period design jolts the viewer with reminders that provincial France in the mid-'70s was still closer to WWII than to the present and that today's relatively harmonious multicultural society was hard won indeed." She reported that he film had opened in France to mostly positive reviews. James Travers, writing on Films de France, praised Deliba's performance, but found the film "marred by its excesses", and felt that it could have been more potent if the performances were toned down a bit.

Awards and accolades

* Winner -

(International Society of Film Critics' award for best film) at the Toronto International Film Festival *Winner of three awards at the International Festival of Women in Cinema, including: **Golden Wave Award ** Audience Choice Award - International Festival of Women in Cinema **Best Actress - International Festival of Women in Cinema * Winner of the Golden Star (Étoile d'or)/Grand prix) at the inaugural Marrakech International Film Festival * Winner - Special Jury Prize - Amiens International Film Festival * Nominated - Golden Pyramid - Cairo International Film Festival The film was Algeria's official submission for the foreign-language film

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inch'allah Dimanche 2001 films 2000s French-language films 2000s Arabic-language films 2001 drama films French drama films Films about immigration to France Algerian drama films 2001 multilingual films French multilingual films Algerian multilingual films 2000s French films