“The Vanishing”, interview with director Karim Moussaoui

March 28, 2025

The director Karim Moussaoui talks about “The Vanishing”, her movie presented in the Meridiana section at the 16th Bif&st

“The Vanishing”, interview with director Karim Moussaoui Manuela Santacatterina

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At the 16th Bari International Film & Tv Festival, FRED Film Radio interviewed the director Karim Moussaoui to talk about “The Vanishing”, a film presented at the Meridiana section.

The heritage of our parents

“The Vanishing” is based on the book by Samir Toumi. There are some differences between the film and the novel, but there is also a common narrative core that the director wanted to explore. “The relationship between generation and the generation gap is something that interested me a lot because the heritage of our parents sometimes make our daily life really hard”, says the director. “I was interested in the book because of a question: ‘How to escape from that and how to be once again free from any influence of the past?”.

The ambiguity

There is an ambiguity in the characters. What did that allow the director to explore in a narrative way? “There was really a long discussion between my producer and my editor about what kind of person Reda is. We all have complexity, we are not always nice, we are hiding some frustrations, we are hiding a bit of violence. And, for example, were not expecting how much violence Reda was keeping in himself”, explains Karim Moussaoui. “With the film I’m trying to show how we are creating monsters in our society because of the pressure and all those things that society is expecting from us”.

Contemporary Algerian cinema

How does the director describe contemporary Algerian cinema? “There is a new wave of directors and new movies, but it’s still a bit complicated for directors to make their movies, It’s hard to find money, there isn’t a cinema school and just one funding. We need to make our films in co-productions”, says Karim Moussaoui.

Plot

Rada seemingly has a life of privilege in Algiers, in his late twenties still living at the family home, with a father who has arranged a job and a fiancée. Reda is eager to please, yet the more he tries the more he veers off course.

Written by: Manuela Santacatterina

Guest

Karim Moussaoui