About This Film
Festival Year: 2009
Run Time: 94 Minutes
Film Type: Feature
Animated: No
Countr(ies): Netherlands
Language: Arabic, Dutch
English Subtitles: No
Captions: None
Film Overview
Dunya and Desie are 18-year-old best friends living completely different lives in Amsterdam. Dunya's a college student, but her Moroccan family is in the midst of arranging her marriage to a cousin back home. Desie is a blowsy blonde Dutch girl with a bejeweled, candy-colored room. Energetic and strong-minded, sexy and soft-hearted, she works as a hairdresser, sleeps around too much, and loves her single mama. Dunya is forbidden to hang out with Desie, but nothing can keep them apart. Right when Desie discovers she's pregnant, Dunya has to leave for Morocco with her family. Desie takes off after her friend, both for moral support and to connect with her own father who left for Morocco after she was born. Together the girls embark on a Moroccan road trip that will not only test their friendship, but also help them discover the value of family and their own identities. Funny and never preachy, based on a prize-winning Dutch TV series, DUNYA & DESIE has a heart of gold. Actress Maryam Hassouni, who plays Dunya, was deservedly named a Shooting Star of European Film by the European Film Promotion Board. (In Dutch and Arabic with English subtitles) – B.B.