STAFF PICK: Myriam, Programme Assistant

I found it so difficult to choose a staff pick as this year’s programme is jam packed with a huge array of amazing films. À mon âge, je me cache encore pour fumer (I Still Hide To Smoke) was one of the first films we selected to be included in this year’s festival programme and I am so pleased that we are able to provide a platform for this beautiful film. The debut feature film of Rehana Obermeyer, I Still Hide to Smoke tells the story of different women in Algiers who use the same hammam (the Arabic word for a bath house) and is adapted from a play of the same name that Obermeyer wrote in 2010. Set over the course of one day, the stories of the different women are interwoven through the narrative as they gossip, share stories and wash.  The power of the hammam as a space of vulnerability and healing is highlighted; where women can be cleansed in a way than is more than just physical, but emotional, too. 

With a majority female cast, it is a pleasure to see so many different women represented on screen, their viewpoints and voices given value. Beautiful and tender, it invokes a sense of belonging and seeing female solidarity depicted on screen feels particularly important in the world we are living in. Obermeyer allows women to have voices, to speak their truth and to be believed in doing so. A truly beautiful and radical film that makes a private space public – you’d be a fool to miss it!

Screening in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Glasgow / Tue 30 Oct 2018 / 6pm 
Glasgow Film Theatre / Book Now

Edinburgh / Thu 1 Nov 2018 / 8.05pm 
Filmhouse / Book Now