I Still Hide To Smoke

Fatima is a strong-willed woman who works as a masseuse in a hamam in Algiers. The year is 1995, and the situation in the capital is tense, as laws are being passed limiting women's freedoms. But the hammam is a safe place to roll a cigarette or talk, away from the eyes of men. Women from different backgrounds gather there, and talk about their lives.

On her way to work one day, Fatima witnesses a terror attack. In the hamam, rather than feeling safe, the atmosphere is electric and she finds it difficult to maintain order. The situation deteriorates when Meriem arrives at the hamam. Meriem is 16 years old and pregnant, and seeking refuge. Shortly thereafter, her brother Muhammad arrives, to "cleanse" his honor with blood.

The film is an adaptation from Obermeyer's play of the same name, from 2009.[2] Obermeyer first came up with the idea for the play and film in the early 1990s, following the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) massive win in Algeria's first-ever "free and democratic" elections. As soon as FIS took power, the party established Islamist rules against women, including dress codes, and segregation between men and women in public places (schools, hospitals, store lines, and bus stops).[3]

According to Rayhana, as the film's director is widely known, the film is about a woman’s desires in a man’s world.[4] Rayhana, who is also an actress, playwright and screenwriter, is a feminist who uses her art to protest injustice.[5] Because of her outspokenness, her film is banned from showing in her home country of Algeria. "My movie is forbidden in my country, because I speak about women who express freely... Anyone who wears pants or shirts with half sleeves is considered a prostitute."[4] She said that a woman who smokes is considered to have bad morals. “But smoking is for everyone, man or woman.” Rayhana herself fled Algeria in 2000, following terrorist attacks in which many of her friends were killed.[4]

• Hiam Abbass : Fatima
• Biyouna : Aïcha
• Fadila Belkebla : Samia
• Nassima Benchicou : Zahia
• Nadia Kaci : Keltoum
• Sarah Layssac : Nadia
• Lina Soualem : Meriem
• Maymouna : Louisa
• Faroudja Amazit : Madame Mouni
• Fethi Galleze : Mohamed

The film received universal accolades, and has been screened at international film festivals around the world. It has a 100% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[7] According to the Hollywood Reporter's Jordan Mintzer, Smoke is a "fairly gripping account of women finding respite in each other’s company at a time, and in a place, where they have few possibilities to express themselves freely."[8] Amal Awad, reviewing the film for Australia's SBS, called it a "thrilling tale" and "It’s a reminder of why we watch stories".[9]

Raindance Film Festival 2017

Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen de Bruxelles

Thessaloniki Film Festival

• Vincent Thabourey, "À mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer", Positif, Vol. 675, May 2017, Paris, Institut Lumière/Actes Sud, p. 53, ISSN 0048-4911.

• I Still Hide To Smoke on IMDb
• I Still Hide To Smoke at Rotten Tomatoes