Directed by

Latifa Saïd

WASTELAND

Terrain Vague
Directed by

Latifa Saïd

Year:

2017

Country:

France | Algeria | Portugal

Language:

French

Medium:

fiction

Genre:

drama

Runtime:

14 minutes

Production: Saudade Productions & Bando à Parte

Synopsis

In a remote suburb of a big city. Omar, a North African worker, is uncomfortable with women. They fascinate him as much as they frighten him. When he meets Rita, a prostitute, he tries to overcome his complexes by discovering his sexuality.

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Why we love it

Rachid Taha's latest film, shot in black-and-white film, Wasteland highlights two shadowy souls marginalized by society with delicate tenderness, who meet and move us. 

About the director

Latifa Saïd worked for ten years as an educator before training as a photographer and working for a time for the press and various organizations.

In 2011, she directed a first short documentary, Au revoir les enfants. In 2015.

After winning the 1st prize for Best Screenplay in the SIRAR Competition at the Aubagne International Film Festival, Latifa Saïd directed Jours Intranquilles (Unquiet Days), produced by GREC in 2016. The film is selected in about twenty festivals and wins several awards. Then, she directed Terrain vague (Wasteland), shot in 35mm. Selected in more than 90 festivals, 40 countries, it is awarded with about twenty prizes. In 2018, she finished her third short fiction film La Chambre (The Room), available on Netflix.

The same year, she directed the documentary Tahity. She has just released a new short fiction film: Toutes les Nuits (Behind Closed Doors) with FILMO2.

Latifa is currently working on her first feature film, Plus longue sera la nuit in Algeria, supported by Méditalents.

Intention Note

The Italian neo-realism has strongly influenced Latifa Saïd. She built the character of Omar, a worker from Maghreb, endearing and upsetting in his inner turmoil, divided between a strong desire for Rita, a prostitute, but also the fear of leaving his family, of escaping from his community of origin and discovering another universe.

Latifa wanted to break the clichés about men from Maghreb shown so far by the media and in some films under the angle of violence. She proposes another look, by entering the intimacy of her character and by showing the extent of their feelings at once singular, universal and complex.

Why we love it

Rachid Taha's latest film, shot in black-and-white film, Wasteland highlights two shadowy souls marginalized by society with delicate tenderness, who meet and move us. 

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