Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui is diving into the realm of eco-thrillers with the forthcoming film “Tarfaya.”
Sofia Alaoui’s next project follows her acclaimed 2023 Sundance jury prize-winning “Animalia,” a supernatural drama about the end of “a” world, continuing her exploration of atmospheric and environmental themes. “Tarfaya” is named after a secluded coastal town near Morocco’s Saharan border, and presents a world grappling with extreme climatic shifts, reports Variety.
According to Alaoui, the story of “Tarfaya” portrays a future where intense heat alternates with severe storms, setting the stage for a slow-burn thriller. The narrative follows Meryam, a nurse in her forties working at a remote hospital, who confronts a baffling new plague linked to environmental instability.
Alaoui describes the film’s tone as reflective and wistful. “At first, the patients become delirious, falling into delusions. Later they fall into a deep sleep, as if they’re disconnecting from the world in which they live,” she told Variety. “The film builds from this wistful tone where the characters become accustomed to a form of apocalypse.”
Despite the film’s apocalyptic backdrop, Alaoui emphasizes its underlying romanticism and poetic nature, avoiding a tone of despair. “I’m not interesting in demoralizing,” she said. “In fact, this world is full of poetry and melancholy. It’s an intimate look at one person struggling while part of a much bigger tale — a tale where the future of the world is at stake.”
Alaoui is set to write, direct, and executive produce “Tarfaya” under her Jiango Films banner. She is currently considering potential co-production partners. Variety reports that through a recent partnership with WME, Alaoui is expanding her creative horizons. She’s developing a TV project titled “Let the Earth Burn” with Paris-based Barney Production and is on the verge of announcing her first English-language film, a science fiction-influenced literary adaptation.
“I’ll never stray too far from sci-fi,” Alaoui said. “And I even dream of making a film set in space. I’m not interested in straight realism; I want to observe the world in which we live from a different angle – to go on a journey, and have my sense of reality questioned instead repeated back to me.”
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