This film is an immersion in the daily life of three Moroccan street vendors who are trying to find a place in an illegal economy. He recounts their struggle within a union to demand legal status in the context of the post "Arab Spring".

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.

Tetouan's Algeria Street is the vibrant heart of the city, where itinerant street vendors sell all manner of contraband goods. Suddenly one day, there is big news: the traders will no longer be allowed to sell their wares on the roadsides. There is a new, model souq under construction - but not all everyone will be able to have access to a stall to conduct their business. For Mohamed, Abdel Slam, and the many others who have grown up on Algeria Street, it is as though time is suddenly suspended. Some expect the worst; others form an association and organise protests. A PLACE UNDER THE SUN is a contemplative, poetic, and at times very funny film about the human condition.

a film by Karim AITOUNA

Morocco / France, 2019, Documentary, 1h14, Portrait / Society

Original title (French): UNE PLACE SOUS LE SOLEIL - مكان تحت الشمس
English title: A PLACE UNDER THE SUN
Country: Morocco / France
Year: 2019
Type: Feature film Documentary
Duration: 1h14 (74 min)
Language: Arabic
Color: Color

Producers:
Karim Aitouna (Waq Waq Studio),
Thomas Micoulet (Haut les Mains productions)

DIRECTOR: Karim Aitouna
Writer: Karim Aitouna
Editing: Qutaiba Barhamji
Sound Editing (Sound Design): Sarah Kaddouri
Sound mixing: Sarah Kaddouri
Color grading: Olivier Dassonville

Production companies:
Waq Waq Studio (Morocco)
Haut les Mains productions (France)

In coproduction with
TV 2M Maroc

With the support of
SANAD Abu Dhabi Film Festival,
OIF (Francophone Fund for Audiovisual Production of the South, 2014),
Rhône-Alpes region.
Laureate of the Louis Lumière scholarship, Institut Français.

WEBSITE
* http://hautlesmainsproductions.fr/index.php/films/
* http://hautlen.cluster028.hosting.ovh.net/index.php/films/une-place-sous-le-soleil/
* www.sanadfilmfund.com/en/projects/2013/development-documentary/a-place-under-the-sun


AWARDS
Robert Bosch Stitfung coproduction Prize in 2013

FESTIVALS
Marrakech International Film Festival (Morocco)
Tangier National Film Festival (Morocco)