The Online Reporters:
ALI ZAOUA:
Interview with Director Nabil Ayouch

The movie tells about street kids. Was it shot with actors or real kids off the street?

They are street children, whom we met in streets of Morocco.

Why did you choose the issue of "Street children in Morocco?"

When I was still very yound und wandring through the city, I saw kids sniffing. I felt somehow guilty, because I had a home and because nobody would take care of these children. So three years ago, I began to work for the UNESCO in this area. With the time, I realized that I wanted to encompass all my experiences into this movie.

How come so many children leave their parents' home and go into the street?

The children often come from family with many other children. They see the street as a place to live their freedom, where they can do whatever they want to.

The movie was strongly saturated by the kids' dreams. Do these dreams help them deal with the gruesome reality?

Yes, I think so. I talked to many kids. I noticed, that they strongly believe in their dreams - but unfortunately, they are so labile that even the smalles setbacks are sufficient to make them give up.

How did the shootings go with the kids?

Of course not different than with normal actors. Everything was very chaotic: once, an actor ran aways and it took us days to find him again. Yet another time, one kid broke his foot in the streets and we had to set out with the shooting for 5 weeks. Still, the work was very exciting, because every child contributed to the movie with its own dreams and ideas.

Did the people of Morocco become more aware of the problem as a result of this movie?

The people did get more concious... They had seen the children daily for the past 20 years, but they looked at them like at buildings, not like humans. The movie showed them, that these kids have dreams as well und that they live their lives, too. After the movie, many people called me to ask where to find these kids so that they can be helped...

These discussion with the audience was recorded by Ludwig Buhmann
translated by Gregor Hochmuth