Atlas Film Showcase
Until Dawn
Synopsis
The 1970s, on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco. In a poor but dignified neighborhood, Hamid, a reserved teenager, lives between his dreamy father, Lahcen, who tends to storks migrating from the north, and his strong-willed mother, R’kaya, who is determined to lift the family out of poverty. Pushed by her, Hamid sells newspapers in bars and at the port, facing humiliation and violence. In this harsh world ruled by drunken US soldiers, he meets Ghenou, a young prostitute, with whom he forms a fragile, silent bond. While R’kaya plans to marry her son to Faytouna, a lame girl from the neighborhood, Lahcen vainly objects. Trapped between duty and desire, Hamid gives in, torn by conflicting forces. When a brawl in a bar and an honor-related scandal erupt, everything collapses around him.
Salvo Lucchese
Corrado Iuvara
Rida El Hadi, Hafça El Khal, Pietro Ragusa, Asmae El Hadrami, Aya Jabran
Ouarzazate Films (Morocco)
Mohamed Zineddaine
Janaprod (Morocco)
Rachida Saadi
Director’s statement
Until Dawn is a free adaptation of Mohamed Zefzaf’s novel Tentative de vie. Through the eyes of the adolescent Hamid, the film explores Morocco in the 1970s, a nation marked by poverty, peripheral neighborhoods, and the presence of foreigners, where youth struggle to survive and find their place. Inspired by Zefzaf’s realist writing and social insight, I aim to portray this period authentically, using its settings—the port, bars, and neighborhoods—as visual extensions of the characters’ inner lives. Often shot with a handheld camera, the story blends poetry and realism, with Hamid, his family, and Ghenou, the “guardian angel,” embodying the emotion and tension of a world in flux. This project seeks to reveal a little-seen chapter of Moroccan history and culture, offering a sensitive and universal cinema, true to the spirit of Zefzaf.
Biographies
Mohamed Zineddaine was born in Morocco. A rebellious and dreamy student, he discovered his passion for literature early after a turbulent school career. In 1983, he left Morocco for France, then settled in Italy—a country that sparked his curiosity and where he worked at various jobs before devoting himself to cinema. Trained in Bologna, he directed his first feature film, Réveil, in 2005.
Founded in 2007 by Rachida Saadi, Janaprod is an independent Moroccan production company devoted to auteur-driven cinema that is rooted in the country’s social and cultural realities. Its award-winning debut, Selma Bargach’s The Fifth String (2011), established its reputation. Recent projects include Karima Guennouni’s Big Little Brother (2026) and Mohamed Zineddaine’s Until Dawn. Janaprod also supports emerging filmmakers through short films, documentaries, and has delivered more than 20 national co-productions.
Centre Cinématographique Marocain
February 2026