Film Forum

Abla (Lubna Azabal) runs a modest bakery from her home in Casablanca, where she lives alone with her 8-year-old daughter, Warda. Their routine of housework is interrupted by a knock on the door. It is Samia (Nisrin Erred) — a young woman looking for a job and a roof over her head.  The little girl is immediately taken with the newcomer, but her mother initially refuses to allow a pregnant stranger into their home. Gradually, however, Abla’s resolve softens and Samia’s arrival begins to offer all of them the prospect of a new life. ADAM is the feature directing debut of Maryam Touzani (THE BLUE CAFTAN). After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 in the Un Certain Regard section, it did not receive a theatrical run in NYC. 

2019    98 MIN.   MOROCCO / FRANCE     STRAND RELEASING
IN ARABIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Reviews

“The beautiful story of two women who transform each other’s lives… with great delicacy, (Touzani) shows how Moroccan society censures a woman who gives birth outside marriage… made heartrending by the superb performance of Lubna Azabal and Nisrin Erred
in the lead roles.”
– Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter

“Subtly moving, ADAM is a beautiful expression of untainted sorority.”
– Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times

“An accomplished debut from Maryan Touzani. A kind, resonant portrait of two women — one who is a mother and one who is reluctantly about to become one. Deft performances from Lubna Azabal and Nisrin Erradi add heart and soul to this slender chronicle of a de facto family learning to rely on one another. One of ADAM’s central pleasures is its calm arrival at fundamental truths about how women nurture and provide — even when they themselves receive little of the same.”
– Tim Grierson, Screen