A visually stunning Moroccan drama where a 16-year-old boy faces love, violence and tradition and the price of manhood.

Sixteen-year-old Hamid sits alone on a small boat in the port of Kenitra, surrounded by ships, sirens and screaming seagulls. “Why does everything feel so fake? Am I cursed?” From this haunting opening, the film unfolds in flashbacks, revealing the weeks that brought him to this moment.

Set in 1970s Morocco, the film moves between impoverished neighbourhoods and a port dominated by trade, violence, and American soldiers. Pressured by his mother to become a “real man”, Hamid sells newspapers at night and meets Ghenou, a prostitute who offers him unexpected tenderness and refuge. Meanwhile, his mother arranges his marriage to Faytouna, pushing Hamid towards a devastating confrontation with tradition, masculinity, and his own conscience.

Visually striking and intensely atmospheric, the film combines powerful imagery, an immersive soundscape, and exceptional performances. Rida El Hadi is extraordinary as Hamid, giving the film a raw, haunting emotional centre. Adapted from Mohamed Zafzaf’s acclaimed novel “Tentative de vie”, by a writer often hailed as Morocco’s Dostoevsky, “Until Dawn” is a powerful cinematic portrait of youth, poverty, and a society in turmoil. Director Mohamed Zineddaine is a talent to watch.

Niki Nikitin