Ronny Sianturi
Paris-based Moroccan auteur Laïla Marrakchi’s latest cinematic offering, Strawberries, delves into the stark realities faced by Moroccan women who undertake arduous seasonal fruit-picking work in Spain. The film, originally titled La más dulce (The Sweetest), poignantly contrasts the hopeful aspirations of these women with the harsh truths of exploitation and hardship they encounter. Inspired by real-life testimonies, Strawberries shines a spotlight on a largely unseen segment of migrant labor, exposing the systemic issues that trap vulnerable individuals in cycles of modern-day slavery. Lucky Number is spearheading the international sales for the film, which is slated for its world premiere in the prestigious Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival on [Insert Date Here].
Marrakchi, a filmmaker recognized for her impactful works such as Marock and Rock the Casbah, and her significant contributions to television with the French spy thriller The Bureau and Damien Chazelle’s The Eddy, co-penned the script for Strawberries with Delphine Agut. The film features a compelling ensemble cast including Nisrin Erradi, known for her roles in Everybody Loves Touda and Adam, alongside Hajar Graigaa, Hind Braik, Fatima Attif, Larbi Mohammed Ajbar, and Itsaso Arana. The production of Strawberries is a collaborative international effort, spearheaded by Juliette Schrameck through her banner Lumen, with co-production from Morocco’s Mont Fleuri Production, Spain’s Fasten Films, and Belgium’s Mirage Films.
Unveiling the Hidden Harvest: Inspiration and Reality
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Marrakchi elaborated on the genesis of Strawberries, emphasizing her drive to bring the "invisible heroism" of Moroccan women working in Spanish fields to the forefront of public consciousness. The film’s narrative was ignited by a journalist friend specializing in migration issues, whose article for The New York Times shed light on the plight of these women. Marrakchi accompanied her friend to Andalusia, where she encountered the women firsthand. "I was really moved by these women who decide to leave Morocco and leave their families behind for money to have a better life in Morocco," Marrakchi stated. "It’s difficult to leave any country for another country, even for three months or four months for work. And I was really impressed by them." This profound encounter propelled Marrakchi to conduct further research and commit to making a film that would illuminate their experiences.
The film unflinchingly portrays the grim realities: substandard living conditions, inadequate health support, unpaid wages, and the harrowing specter of abuse, including sexual harassment and prostitution. When questioned about whether she encountered women who had more positive experiences, Marrakchi acknowledged the diversity of narratives. "I met lots of women working in the strawberry fields who had the experience of bad conditions and [abuse], but there were also some who went to Spain, had a good experience and went back to Morocco with money. They had the opportunity to have a better life in Morocco." However, her artistic focus for Strawberries was to highlight the systemic issues: "My film tells this story, about the problems of harassment, of prostitution, and I try to show how difficult the work is and the conditions are. These women go there for a good reason, because they want to follow a dream, but then there is the reality of the work that no Spanish people want to do."
The Shadow of Neocolonialism and Silenced Voices
The narrative of Strawberries also incorporates the depiction of legal struggles, with Marrakchi explaining that the film reflects real-world attempts by workers to seek justice. "There have been several trials, in which the workers, the pickers, tried to speak out about what’s happened in the greenhouses and in the fincas." However, these efforts are often met with significant obstacles. "But there is no good resolution, because people are afraid to speak out, and they step back because they [face] too much pressure, and this is a huge, huge industry." The precarious legal and social standing of these women makes speaking out a daunting proposition. "For these Moroccan women, it’s difficult to speak up and speak out, because they can lose everything in Spain and in their [home] country. What I show in my film is really not simple at all. Speaking out is a privilege."
Marrakchi draws a direct parallel between the exploitation faced by these women and a form of neocolonialism. She describes their vulnerability, often stemming from limited travel experience, lack of higher education, and rural backgrounds. "These women are coming from a background where this is the first time they leave Morocco. They have never traveled. They don’t have a higher education. Most of them come from the countryside. And it’s complicated when you don’t speak the language, when you don’t have the education, when you don’t have anything and you decide to leave your country to have a better life."
The language barrier and cultural differences are crucial elements explored in the film, amplifying the women’s sense of isolation and disempowerment. Marrakchi notes the deliberate use of subtitled dialogue to immerse the audience in the characters’ struggles. "Yes, it’s also a film about how your voice is sometimes [muted] or stolen. The translation can be tricky, because your words can be transformed, and you don’t have weapons to defend yourself, because they don’t have the education and the language [skills]." This linguistic and educational disparity, she argues, perpetuates a power imbalance rooted in historical and global economic inequalities. "So, this is also a film about the relationship now between the Western world and the [Global] South. It’s about the racism and a lot of layers of other layers."
Resilience Amidst Adversity: Humanizing the Experience
Despite the somber themes, Strawberries is not solely a tale of despair. Marrakchi intentionally wove in scenes of levity and camaraderie among the women, a conscious effort to humanize their experiences. "I love those. It’s really important to humanize these women. We live in the Western world and sometimes don’t realize that these people can love, can be funny and can be women [just like everybody else]." These moments of shared laughter and mutual support underscore their resilience and their ability to forge connections even in the face of immense hardship.
"The big challenge of this film was for me not to make it all miserable," Marrakchi revealed. "For me, it was really important to show these women, as real heroines and show the empowerment of these women. But they can also be cruel to each other. It’s not black and white." This nuanced portrayal acknowledges the complexities of human nature and the multifaceted realities of community under duress.
A Title That Evokes Dual Meanings
The choice of title, Strawberries, and its original Spanish counterpart, La más dulce, is deliberate, playing on the inherent duality of the women’s aspirations and their lived experiences. "It’s like a tagline, a slogan," Marrakchi explained. "And I like the idea of playing with these two things – the thing that is very sweet is also hard at the same time. The dream of having a better life comes with the difficulty of the hard work." The seemingly idyllic image of strawberries belies the bitter reality of the labor involved and the exploitation that often accompanies it.
Casting and Artistic Vision: Elevating Unseen Stories
Strawberries provides a platform for a talented cast of Moroccan actresses, many of whom are well-known within their home country but may be new discoveries for international audiences. Marrakchi’s casting approach also extended to incorporating authenticity into the film’s visual fabric. "We used real pickers as extras in the film," she disclosed, further grounding the narrative in genuine experiences.
Marrakchi’s overarching artistic ambition for Strawberries is to bring visibility to marginalized individuals. "I want to show these women who are often not visible. Through this film, I want to make them visible as strong women. It’s like an homage to these women, because they are so strong and amazing. They are like a rock. I was so impressed by the Moroccan women I met." The film serves as a powerful testament to their strength, endurance, and the often-unacknowledged contributions of migrant laborers worldwide.
Broader Implications and Socio-Economic Context
The issues raised by Strawberries resonate within a broader global context of labor migration, economic inequality, and the persistent challenges of exploitation. The seasonal agricultural labor market in Europe, particularly in countries like Spain, has long relied on a workforce often drawn from developing nations. These workers, frequently facing language barriers and precarious legal statuses, are vulnerable to exploitative practices that can include wage theft, substandard housing, and exposure to hazardous working conditions. Data from organizations like the International Labour Organization (ILO) consistently highlight the prevalence of forced labor and human trafficking within agricultural sectors globally, with migrant workers being disproportionately affected.
The film’s exploration of neocolonialism touches upon enduring power dynamics between former colonial powers and post-colonial nations. While overt colonial rule has ended, economic dependencies and exploitative relationships can persist, manifesting in ways such as the demand for cheap labor in developed economies. The experiences of the Moroccan women in Strawberries can be seen as a contemporary example of how economic disparities can perpetuate cycles of vulnerability and exploitation.
The #MeToo movement, referenced by Marrakchi, has also brought increased attention to issues of sexual harassment and assault across various industries. The film’s portrayal of sexual exploitation within the agricultural labor context underscores the urgent need for greater protections and accountability for all workers, regardless of their origin or employment sector. The difficulty these women face in seeking legal recourse or speaking out, as highlighted by Marrakchi, points to systemic failures in labor law enforcement and victim support mechanisms.
Ultimately, Strawberries serves as a critical piece of social commentary, urging audiences to confront the hidden costs of the products they consume and to acknowledge the human stories behind globalized industries. By bringing these narratives to the forefront of cinematic discourse, Laïla Marrakchi aims to foster empathy, provoke dialogue, and advocate for a more just and equitable treatment of all workers. The film’s selection for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard program signifies its artistic merit and its potential to spark important conversations on the international stage.
