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Through her parents' artistic practices, Lilya Ennadre was immersed in the creative universe even before choosing her vocation. This family environment would shape her professional journey. «My mother was constantly absorbed in her work. Like many directors, it was part of her daily life. Everything around us served to nurture her reflections on her current or upcoming film. She was very observant, and she educated me on this way of seeing the world», recalls the French-Moroccan actress.
«My father, who is also a filmmaker, has dedicated his life – and still does today – to filming the struggles he defends and the world around him. It's this daily camera perspective that accompanied me growing up», Lilya Ennadre tells us. From a very young age, the Paris native felt «constantly inhabited by this desire for cinema, this same desire to tell stories».
«I do it today as an actress, but with an approach that's practically documentary in nature. I prepare extensively for each role I interpret. I gather the necessary background and work a lot intellectually, beforehand, before stepping in front of the camera. This comes from my parents' documentary heritage», she explains.
«I dreamed so much of being a comedian that I don't remember when I had the revelation. I spent my childhood creating characters; I was fascinated by film sets, seeing the emotion of people telling their stories in front of my mother's camera... She felt this call to cinema in me, but both my parents had reservations about me evolving in this field. When they understood it was truly my vocation, they supported me with all their hearts».
A Cinema of everyday people
Daughter of Moroccan documentary filmmaker Dalila Ennadre, actress Lilya Ennadre holds onto a precious memory and a piece of life advice from her mother, who passed away in May 2020. «The last thing she told me about cinema was: 'My daughter, you have talent, but you need to work.' Today, I put all my energy into it, whether it’s classes, preparing for a role, or professional networking. For me, it’s a guiding principle to keep my feet on the ground», says Lilya Ennadre, who organized a traveling retrospective of her late mother's work across the French Institutes in Morocco.
This tour across ten cities is proposed by Laya Prod, a production and distribution company launched by Dalila Ennadre in 2019 and now directed by Lilya Ennadre. The retrospective is supported by the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), 2M, the BMCI Foundation, and Culture Plus Conseil. The actress is delighted to see this project materialize. «I contacted the French Institutes, who were very receptive. Things happened quickly, even a bit earlier than the date I had planned for the five-year anniversary», she confides.
For her, it's also «a way to express [her] gratitude to [her] mother, for the precious heritage she transmitted and through films that reveal so many life lessons». In this way, «reviving her memory and telling her story» helps the young artist maintain her connection with the deceased. «It's the resonance of memory that keeps a person alive in our minds», Lilya reminds us.
«Today, I feel my mother and father are very happy with my journey and seeing that I don't betray my convictions for roles», she tells us. In Morocco, Lilya Ennadre took the initiative to make this retrospective a moment of tribute to her mother, but also of sharing with everyone, reflecting Dalila Ennadre's vision of cinema. The program includes seven documentary films linked to social issues, «to continue making this precious heritage resonate».
Lilya Ennadre's wish «is that this tour not be limited to Morocco». In her projects, she plans to propose the initiative in France, Spain, and Egypt, given that the themes addressed in these films «are universal and transcend borders». But starting the event in Morocco stems from Dalila Ennadre's «visceral connection» to her country of origin. In this regard, Lilya «testifies to the impressive energy she deployed to give her best, despite her illness, especially during the last two years of her life».
Indeed, the actress remembers that each of her mother's stays in the country allowed her to «find vital energy» to dedicate herself to creation. «In her encounters, she always found the essence of her humanitarian message», her daughter emphasizes. The first film shown as part of this retrospective was Dalila Ennadre's posthumous documentary, «Jean Genet, Our Father of Flowers». Her daughter personally supervised the completion of this work, which has been awarded for its artistic qualities and innovative approach to the genre.
Projects between fiction and documentary approach
Previously, the young actress accompanied her mother during filming, even immersing herself in Casablanca's medina, where Dalila Ennadre grew up. Between ages 8 and 9, Lilya spent a year in her maternal family's neighborhood. She absorbed the habits and way of life of the women in the historic Casablanca district, attended public school, learned Arabic, and learned more about the social situation of her surroundings, neighbors, and relatives.
«I think without my mother's films, I wouldn't know Morocco as I know it today. She was a spokesperson for the people, and I'm happy to perpetuate her legacy. I was fortunate to have access to the people she filmed telling their intimate stories, particularly the women of the medina [in 'El Batalett', available on the French Institute of Morocco's social networks]. I learned not to view the country through the filter of prejudices that cinema sells us. I don't know any clichés about Moroccan women».
Suffice it to say that Dalila Ennadre «managed to make her films a mirror of the people who find and recognize themselves in them, that's why she is so loved». Step by step, while working on her artistic journey and her mother's work, Lilya is increasingly drawn to directing, with an inclination toward fiction that allows greater freedom to imagine. She confides that she feels «increasingly called by the country».
«Just a year ago, I never had the idea of getting behind the camera. I was always fascinated by accompanying my mother, but without feeling the need to film myself. Now that I'm fully investing in perpetuating her legacy and immersing myself in her cinematic universe, I tell myself there are still so many things to show and do».
This is how Lilya Ennadre has been contemplating it since last May. After experiencing «a flash» and «very vivid images», she now feels a «burning desire» to create a biographical film about her mother’s life—«she who spent her life filming the lives of others». «I would like to give her this gift and reveal a more intimate side of her, what led her to the path of cinema, and the life journey that inspired her to address those universal questions explored in her films», the actress confides.
«I admire her strength, her resilience, her humanity. To draw a parallel with her last film, she poses the question of what we do with our pain and how to benefit from each one to continue living upright», Lilya Ennadre tells us. This is what the late director did in her posthumous documentary opus, where «she filmed life in a cemetery while being crushed by illness».
For the heir to this work, «it's a universal message of hope and love». Parallel to her acting projects, she sees her upcoming film as fiction, telling the story of «someone who, throughout her life, did everything to remain standing in the face of life's challenges».
