On June 10th Jérôme Cohen-Olivar’s feature film, Autisto, began six weeks’ filming in Casablanca.
Produced by Zhor Fassi-Fihri, the film is about a mother struggling with her teenage son’s severe autism. Refusing to accept his disability, she fights to help him find his place in society. The director explained that the film is inspired by his own personal experience, since he is himself the father of an autistic child.
Loubna Abidar, the actress discovered in Nabil Ayouch’s film Much Loved, plays the mother.
The producer explained that “the film is a 100% Moroccan production. Initially it was to be a big-budget co-production with Israeli and American companies, shot in the three countries (see our article on this subject). In the end the script was rewritten and the story adapted.” The budget is 8.5 million dinars (€790,000).
