Broken Gaiete

Lost in an unknown and timeless land, IDIR finds himself with KASHOU a woman who claims to be his mother, crossing through a village that lives by absurd and maniacal rules. Not remembering his past Idir convinces Kashou to settle there and start a new life, but to do so he must get an -ASIV- which is to marry from the village. Beda, a woman who shares secrets with Tsicar (the village leader) marries Idir and quickly things take a decidedly strange turn when the rule about new borns is unveiled.

  • Hafid Abdelmoula
    Director
  • Hafid Abdelmoula
    Writer
  • Hafid Abdelmoula
    Producer
  • Trudel Abdelmoula
    Producer
  • Hector Dez
    Key Cast
    "Idir"
  • Irene Taylor
    Key Cast
    "Beda"
  • Elizabeth Elise Gonzalez
    Key Cast
    "Kashou"
  • Mark Vasconcellos
    Key Cast
    "Tsicar"
  • James T Kirk
    Key Cast
    "Hooded Man"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Fantasy, Drama
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 44 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 20, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Blackmagic
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - VCFA
  • Santa Fe Film Festival
    Santa Fe
    United States
    February 17, 2021
    North America
    WINNER, Best Feature Film
  • Lonely Wolf London Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    January 21, 2021
    World
    Nominated Best Production Design
  • World Music & Independent Film Festival
    Washington, D.C.
    United States
    February 27, 2021
    WINNER Best First Time Director
Distribution Information
  • High-octane
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Hafid Abdelmoula

Hafid is an award-winning Moroccan-American Writer/Director, Actor and a Singer, who earned his Bachelor in Film from New Mexico State University and an MFA in directing from Vermont College of Fine arts. At an early age Hafid was a singer at the Moroccan Regional Orchestra Conservatory and an actor/writer/director at the local theater company. He wrote and directed his own first plays at the age of 20. Hafid is also a singer winner at the 1996 tv competition of the Moroccan 2M Tv channel. Since his move to USA, Hafid has been active in so many projects that led to some awards. The combination of multilingualism and an exotic background have enabled Hafid to have a multicultural diversity and a huge understanding of the world view which helps him tell better stories perspectively.

Hafid speaks multiple languages: Arabic, Berber, French, English and Some Spanish & German.

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Director Statement

I consider myself extremely lucky to have lived in two different cultures. From birth to my early 20’s I was immersed in the Moroccan culture that I consider the crude oil of my artistic creativity.

I was a very curious child and the word “WHY” was my favorite. People often called me an old soul, because of my interest in ideas and why people do certain things rather than playing soccer in the small streets of my neighborhood. When I came to America and experienced a total different cultural behavior, I was a bit shocked, what I was taught is wrong in morocco was normal in the states and vice versa. After almost two decades, I now consider myself a multicultural hybrid human being; A Moroccan American, with a brain full of cultural transistors, which are constantly switching between two perspectives and that, was the force behind me writing Broken Gaiete. The only way to encapsulate my concept was to remove the place, time and any cultural relevance from the story, and let the audience experience the absurdity of the human behavior to survive in the environment they happen to call home. Choosing to make Broken Gaiete my Grad-school thesis, was faced with a huge resistance from faculty and was considered an over ambitious project for academia’s curriculum, and for my circumstance. They were aware of ZERO budget and my demanding full time career. But when the film was complete, I was praised for believing in myself and not standing down. I graduated with honors and a generous award from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Broken Gaiete would’ve never happened without the support of my wife Trudel Abdelmoula and my kids, who made it feasible and exciting, especially when using our own garage and backyard to shoot all interior scenes.

- Hafid Abdelmoula