In a village in the Atlas Mountains, newly-wed and heavily pregnant Itto lives in the home of her wealthy in-laws. Itto herself is a member of the Amazigh, or »free people«, and comes from a working-class background. Her husband Amine is the son of a caïd, a local leader. He is a loving husband, but is controlled by an oppressive father and an overbearing mother, who is contemptuous of Itto’s modest origins. When the family goes away on a trip, Itto is left alone in the family villa for the first time and relishes some rare moments of solitude. But chaos suddenly breaks out: green lightning flashes across the desert sky, dogs, birds and sheep behave oddly, mist descends on the villages, helicopters, armoured vehicles and armed troops appear – a state of emergency is declared. What starts out as a tongue-in-cheek description of Morocco’s moneyed classes now develops into a mysteriously destabilising event of global proportions – underscored by Amine Bouhafa’s ominous film music. Itto’s quest to reunite with her family turns into a sci-fi road trip through a country in turmoil. Her faith falters, leaving Itto increasingly sensitive to the forces that intertwine humans and other-worldly beings.

Sofia Alaoui offers no explanation for the disaster unfolding in her visually stunning interpretation of an alien invasion drama. For her, Animalia is »a human odyssey and an ode to nature and the question of man’s place in this complex world«.

In cooperation with the Afrika Film Festival Köln