A Place Under the Sun

Morocco, Germany
Producer: Karim Aitouna, Carsten Böhnke
Production Company: Hautlesmains Productions, Greenestone Films

Project Logline:

In Northern Morocco, the city of Tetouan, three street vendors: Mohamed, Abd Rahman and Saidia, live the same daily struggle. They must earn their bread in the streets and markets crowded with hundreds of competitors in an increasingly tense sector. Mohamed, Abd Rahman and Saidia are all tired of selling in the street with anxiety, fear and humiliation. They dream of a better future for themselves and their children. With this dream, they engage in the collective action within an association of street vendors and meet every Friday in the offices of their union, led by the President Al Komsi, a street vendor and talented orator. Unable to act against the municipalityʼs contempt for years, the impact of Bouaziziʼs act gave them a new hope. They understood that they could challenge the authorities and thus change their destiny. They do not hesitate to make their voices heard and to sit at the negotiating table with the authorities.

Karim Aitouna was born in Morocco. He graduated in Law and got a Masterʼs degree in Film Studies and another in Cultural Management. In 2008, he received the creation grant of «Lyon September of photography», produced and directed the short documentary 2horas on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The film has been screened at many festivals such as the Human Right Film Festival. In 2009, he founded the production company «hautlesmains productions» with which he supervises the making of audiovisual content in the field of visual art and culture. He directed and produced the program Clin dʼoeuvres, broadcasted on Lyon TV and Capcanal. He produced also for other filmmakers. A place under the sun, his new documentary won the Robert Bosch Stitfung coproduction prize in 2013 and was selected at Zagreb Dox Pro and Docmed.