US Trailer for Moroccan-Dutch Coming Out to Parents Film ‘El Houb’
by Alex Billington
March 29, 2023
Source: YouTube
“You don’t know what it’s like to live a lie, Karim.” Uncork’d Ent. & Dark Star Pics have revealed an official US trailer for an indie film titled El Houb, made by the Moroccan-Dutch filmmaker Shariff Nasr. After premiering at film festivals around the world last year, it will be opening in select theaters week – and on VOD next week. Writer / director Shariff Nasr’s intimate, unique and commanding exploration of a man who comes out to his family. Moroccan-Dutch Karim returns to his family home and opens up to his parents about being attracted to men. Their reaction inspires a journey of discovery through Karim’s isolation as he attempts to break an ingrained culture of silence. El Houb is inspired by main actor Fahd Larhzaoui’s personal experiences with coming out to his family. El Houb (meaning “the love“) focuses on the silent culture the director has observed in Arabic families – not only about homosexuality but cultural taboos in general. With a powerful filmic language, it’s about reading between the lines & things not said. Take a look.
Here’s the official US trailer (+ poster) for Shariff Nasr’s El Houb, direct from Dark Star’s YouTube:
“It is fantastic to be able to work with internationally renowned actors like Lubna Azabal and Slimane Dazi. Lubna underwent an intense metamorphosis to realistically portray the role of the elderly mother and Slimane went through an intensive process to speak fluent Darija Arabic in the film. Thanks to their efforts and enormous commitment, they, along with Fahd Larhzaoui and Sabri Saddik, form a close-knit family in El Houb that draws the viewer into this intense story.” –Director Shariff Nasr
Moroccan-Dutch Karim (Fahd Larhzaoui) decides it’s time to tell his parents (Lubna Azabal and Slimane Dazi) that he is attracted to men. After years of keeping up appearances, the word is finally out… The difficult days that follow evoke beautiful and poignant memories. He realizes that he has to confront his family to finally break the silence. But in order to be accepted, he must come to terms with his own feelings first. El Houb, which translates to The Love, is directed by Moroccan-Dutch filmmaker Shariff Nasr, making his first narrative feature after the doc film Little Stars of Bethlehem previously, plus lots of short films. The screenplay is written by Nasr, Philip Delmaar and Fahd Larhzaoui. Produced by Joram Willink. This initially premiered at the 2022 Frameline Film Festival last year. Uncork’d Ent. will release Nasr’s El Houb in select US theaters on April 7th, 2023, then on VOD starting April 11th coming soon. Interested?
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