Sofia

Meryem Benm'Barek : 2018

Sofia, 20, lives with her parents in Casablanca. She is about to give birth out of wedlock, which under Morocco's arcane laws places both partners eligible for a mandatory jail sentence of up to one year. The hospital gives her 24 hours to provide the father's papers before informing the authorities. Sofia, a girl from an upper-class family, finally names a young working-class man with whom she was only briefly acquainted. Despite her parents' horror and disgust, the only solution is to quickly arrange a marriage, to get the law off their backs and save the family reputation, just as a lucrative business deal for Sofia's father is in the offing. Meryem Benm'Barek's feature debut was winner of the Prize for Best Screenplay when it premiered in competition in the Un Certain Regard section at Festival de Cannes 2018.