Mareike Engelhardt dives into the heart of a very special house in Rabia discovered in Angoulême then in Deauville where he won the Ornano-Valenti prize. She sends a young 19-year-old Frenchwoman, brilliantly played by Megan Northam, to Syria because the latter has volunteered to serve Daesh and become a fighter's wife. The “house” or “madafas” in which she lands is run by the implacable Madame (chilling Lubna Azabal) who takes charge of the new recruits.
For the heroine and the friend who left with her, a descent into hell begins between regimentation and disillusionment. The German director spoke to 20 Minutes of his approach to subjects that are as fascinating as they are sensitive.
Why did you put women at the center of your film?
We talk little about female violence and yet, in all totalitarian systems, we find extremely powerful women. Like the Khmer Rouge, for example. They were communists who studied at the Sorbonne in France and then returned to their country and killed a third of their population. The character of Madame is representative of this. She's not an idiot. He is an educated and greedy person who knows what he is doing and loves power.
What time period does the action take place in?
Between 2014 and 2017. Between the proclamation of the caliphate, the moment when the Islamic State was at the top, and the moment when the regime lost its hegemony. I began my story at the height of his power and ended it when his downfall came. It follows the heroine's trajectory from heaven to hell, beginning in the clouds and ending in the scorched earth.
Is the film realistic?
I was forced to soften reality in order to make Rabia bearable for the spectators although I based myself on proven facts. The character of Madame is inspired by the Moroccan Fatiha Mejjati (also known as Oum Adam). She led a “madafas” in 2015 and Lubna Azabal worked on her role by learning about her. A survivor of her houses was present on the set to advise us on how to recreate the atmosphere between a holiday camp and a Spanish “madafas” inn. Just like the other people I was able to meet, she confirmed to me that the worst I imagined was far below what these girls were experiencing.
Who were these young girls who left for Syria?
We really needed to see young girls from all kinds of different backgrounds. They are so unhappy at home, for various reasons, that they convince themselves that they will find an escape from their worries. I think that says as much about them as it does about the societies they are fleeing. We have to ask ourselves questions when young people prefer to go to a country at war driven by a nebulous ideology rather than stay and live among us. This phenomenon is not as recent as one might think: my grandparents were only 17 when they joined the Hitler Youth…
How do you explain this?
Young people have always needed to be reassured and this is not getting better. I believe that we are more and more divided and that different communities communicate less and less with each other. This lack of empathy, or even love, leaves its mark and it is in the hope of belonging to a community that young people get involved without always understanding what this entails. The divide between the very poor and the very rich also encourages this revolt fueled by a need for absolutes.
Wouldn’t a political commitment allow this?
Many young people no longer believe in it. They feel powerless in the face of a major ecological disaster. It must be hard to be a teenager today and watch the world fall apart and tell yourself there's nothing you can do about it. When I was a kid, teenagers became dog punks to react against despair. Now, some anxious young people are choosing jihad which seems to give them certainty in an unstable world.
Why did you choose for your heroine to be a lesbian?
I found this interesting for several reasons. Already because I think that, in these houses, there were necessarily some. But also because after discovering a book by Leïla Slimani on Moroccan youth in which she interviews a woman, she answered a question that I asked myself about societies in the Maghreb. How do young people discover sexuality? How do they make love before marriage? In this book, we learn that many girls sleep together as friends and that it goes really well. It's only after marriage that things often go south. Another reason is that, when I was younger, I sometimes fell in love with friends without understanding this feeling because we were formatted into a hetero model. I admire this new generation which is trying to break through this societal shell which has restricted our sexuality for so long.
Is that why you insist on his relationship with his girlfriend?
The relationship between the heroine and her girlfriend and the fact that they are going to be separated were crucial for the development of the character. Their relationship is the most beautiful thing in his life. The loss of her love is a decisive step in her radicalization because it creates an emotional void which will favor her. She had to lose something fundamental. This is how cults work. They distance you from your loved ones by cutting all your societal ties to be able to take complete care of yourself.
How did the first spectators react?
I am very touched by the reactions of Muslims. I feared that they would accuse me of representing them poorly. I was especially afraid that I would be accused of showing them in a negative way. Fortunately, they don't recognize themselves in the film. It's important to me. It's not Muslims I'm talking about Rabia but of people recruited into a sect. I deliberately did not center my film on Islam, choosing to tell things in a universal way. Religion is a pretext, not the subject of the film.
Are you targeting a particular audience?
It's a film that I also made for young people, to warn them and give them food for thought. During the previews, many parents were also concerned, I am happy to see that everyone always has fascinating questions around a subject that really touches them. This is what I hoped to provoke with Rabia. A reflection and discussions between generations.
Related News :