Sofia (15)

The breaking of her waters at a family gathering mean that 20-yr-old Sofia, daughter of a well-to-do Casablanca family, can no longer deny, to herself or anyone else, that she is pregnant. This will usher in serious consequences in a country – Morocco – where sex out of wedlock is an imprisonable offense. Whisked away by her cousin, she gives birth in a hospital which admits her on condition that she produce her husband within 24 hours or face the consequences. At this point you might anticipate a heartfelt, Western-Liberal denunciation of narrow-minded laws and expectations, but this is a far more nuanced and ambitious film than that, as the sullen, apparently meek Sofia transcends, in a most unexpected manner, the victimhood that seems to be her lot. A gripping, eye-opening exploration of class politics, women’s issues, social pressures and bureaucracy in modern Morocco, bought to life with a marvellous ensemble cast and assured direction.