Strawberries

Two young women, Hasna and Meriem leave Morocco to work as seasonal laborers picking strawberries in “Fresa del Carmen” farm in Southern Spain. Their hope is to return and to offer a better life for their families, but soon they realise anything is like it was promised and they are forced to face long shifts without rest, minimum wages and sexual harassment. Furthermore, it is evident the cultural contrast and isolation marked by language, tradition and religion. They would need to take prompt decisions to seek justice and dignify their position.

It took six years and a small budget for Moroccan/French writer/director Laïla Marrakchi to complete this story of migrant workers, built after shadowing a friend journalist doing field research in Huelva about Moroccan women trying to seek justice after labour exploitation. “My film is a fictional story inspired by these true events. It's a very current story bringing in elements of sexual harassment, MeToo, speaking out, ecology, capitalism and even colonialism,” says the director Laïla Marrakchi to Screen Daily. Despite the struggles, injustice and abuse, the film shows the strength of sisterhood and the joy of music and friendship.