Bardi

Across the plains of central Morocco, men and boys gather for Tbourida, a centuries-old equestrian tradition in which riders charge in formation and fire gunpowder into the air. Beginning with two young brothers aspiring to become accomplished riders, Bardi opens up to become a portrait of multiple characters. Filmed over several years, it follows the bonds of care and fraternity that sustain the spectacle.

Force and precision coexist with tenderness, humour and vulnerability. Through bodies and horses, dust and song, performance transforms everyday identities: the farmer becomes a general, the young man a prince, the worker a hero. Play and invention also emerge from the relationships between filmmaker and riders, inspired by how they imagine and present themselves. An epic built from ordinary lives, this is the second part of a trilogy by Tala Hadid, following House in the Fields about the coming of age of Amazigh girls. In three movements, Bardi makes room for chance and transformation. The horses’ gazes and gestures gradually draw us beyond the human world.