Roschdy Zem Film Entered for Oscar
Morocco’s entry for the Foreign Films Category of the 2012 Oscar Awards is the movie ‘Omar Killed Me’, chosen by the country’s selection commission, headed by Mohamed Gallaoui. The film has already been said to be a top contender for the 2012 Oscars. Winning the Best Foreign Language Film Award would be a wonderful achievement for Morocco and for Roschdy Zem, the Moroccan filmmaker responsible for the shooting and compiling of the film.
Roschdy Zem was born in 1965 in Genevilliers, and is of Moroccan descent. He began his career in the film industry as an actor and even won a shared Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award in 2006 for the role he played in the movie ‘Days of Glory’. Zem slowly began to expand his horizons and explored the world of filmmaking.
The film, ‘Omar Killed Me’ fits all the criteria set out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has enjoyed positive reviews from film critics. The film begins with a murder that took place in the year 1991, and written in the blood of the slain Madame Marchal is the name of Omar Raddad (played by Sami Bouajila) saying “Omar má tuer”, translated to “Omar Killed Me”. This historical dramatization takes viewers on journey through the harrowing time faced by an illiterate Moroccan gardener. Even though there was other evidence, pinning the crime on Raddad was easy and no-one wanted to believe that Madam Marchal could have made a mistake or that her message could have been misunderstood. His time in jail allows Raddad to heal and learn how to read and write, while the battle to prove his innocence was ongoing outside the prison walls.
The film is gripping and keeps the audience enthralled and in suspense throughout. This magnificent Moroccan film is likely to receive even more rave reviews and everyone involved believes that this production does have all the features and qualities that could secure the Best Foreign Film for Morocco at the Oscars.
