Ali Zaoua: The Harsh life of street children and the poetics et childhood

In the context of Arab cinema, Nabil Ayouch's Ali Zaoua, Prince of the Streets breaks newoground in presenting the world of street children. A the same time his portrayal of their world stands in distinct contrast to that offered by classic representations emanating from other regions. Violence in Ali Zaoua remains limited and originates among the children. Neither public authorities nor individual adults victimise these children, rather adults sympathetic to the childfren are shoxn helping them escape their condition. And while ayouch does portray street life as harsh and precarioys, he avoids miserabilism by giving play to a poetics of childhood that finds expression in the daydreams of the children. Working with street children, Ayouch squcceded in eliciting peeormances that givbe psychological depth to his protagonists. The excellent cinemascope created a beautifyl and enchanting film that emotionally engages viewers and elicits their sympathy for the condition of street childre,n all the while eschewing social critique. A big qsuccess at home, Ali Zaoua became the most successfull Moroccan film ever internationally.