Half the Sky
In Rabat, Jocelyne, a 28-year-old French teacher, is married to Abdellatif Laâbi, a 29-year-old Moroccan poet, with whom she has two children. Abdellatif, director of the opposition magazine Souffles, creates with his friend, Abraham Serfaty, the clandestine revolutionary movement, Ilal-Amam. In January 1972, Abdellatif and Abraham are arrested. They are, however, freed one month after the birth of Qods, Abdellatifs daughter. But, in March 1972, Abdellatif is arrested once again. Abraham escapes from the police and goes underground. Evelyne, Abrahams sister is arrested and savagely tortured. Freed, she tells Jocelyne that she was called a dirty Jew by the police. This insult reminds Jocelyne of a terrible family secret: her father, member of the Vichy militia, participated in the arrest of Jews in Lyon. Jocelyne decides to be the secret link between Abraham and the prisoners and she mobilizes with the families. In 1973, Abdellatif is sentenced to ten years in prison! In 1974, Abraham is arrested, which enables the police to discover the letters that Jocelyne wrote him. Arrested, her passport is confiscated and she is taken to a secret detention center where she ends up admitting that she wrote the letters. Freed, she notices that Qods growth has stopped. The doctors prescribe tests in France. But the embassy refuses to give her a new passport because of a secret deal with the police! In 1977, Abraham is sentenced to life imprisonment! The prisoners go on a hunger strike. One prisoner, Saïda Menebhi, dies. The fight pays off: in 1980, the families can visit the prisoners outside the visiting room. But this visit reminds Jocelyne that she must wait two more years before Abdellatif is released. Despondent, she takes comfort with friends in Casablanca. The next day, in a spectacular turn of events, she learns that Abdellatif had been released the night before!
