Into the Blue Night

Directed by Halima Elkhatabi

Sana, a 58-year-old Montrealer, learns she has an unknown, unnamed, probably incurable disease. Offered treatment that is as vague as it is uncertain, she decides—under the influence of her older sister—to return to southern Morocco to undergo an ancestral ritual with a young, mysterious Gnawa musician in her native land. Not knowing for sure whether she is actually seeking a cure, together with Aya, her 24-year-old daughter, Sana embarks on a road trip that takes them on a tumultuous and overwhelming journey of initiation that may prove to be their last journey together.