Late For My Mother's Funeral

Late For My Mother's Funeral

2013 · 78 min · Documentary

Former Portland director Penny Allen’s (PROPERTY, PAYDIRT) new film is the intimate, turbulent portrait of a French-Algerian-Moroccan family residing in Algeria and adrift following the death of their mother, Zineb, a notorious smuggler of gold and jewels. Filmed over the course of three years, the film finds its own space between documentary and fiction as the family’s story brings to life the complexities of cross-border identities, the influence of political context on individual lives, and the importance of the mother figure in Arab/Islamic cultures

Directed by Penny Allen

Your Rating

Make it a double feature

2h 42m together

Late For My Mother's Funeral

Jesus Camp

A close match in mood and era.

More from Penny AllenSee all →

PaydirtPaydirt · 1981
Paydirt
9.01981
MovieDramaThriller
Cash-strapped Oregon winemakers turn to growing pot in order to finance their vineyard.
American PlayhouseAmerican Playhouse · 1982
American Playhouse
6.61982
SeriesDramaComedy
American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.
Big TimeBig Time · 1989
Big Time
6.51989
MovieDramaTV Movie
Set in the fast paced materialistic world of the late 1980's the film depicts a destructive love triangle. The young, ruthless characters play out a hard-edged drama of life, love and greed.
PropertyProperty · 1979
Property
3.81979
MovieDrama
Facing eviction, the residents of a bohemian quarter of Portland, Oregon organize to collectively purchase a block of houses, only to get a crash course in bureaucracy.
Pushing Past the BadPushing Past the Bad · 2026
Pushing Past the Bad
2026
MovieDrama
Stann is the head of a three-generation troubled French family that he struggles to support through petty crime. He puts on a strong front, but is floundering and he hates his life until a beautiful Black woman, Gloria, arrives on the scene. They secretly marry against the family’s will – not only is she Black but she is also an American. PUSHING PAST THE BAD tells an unusual story of love that transcends romance. Gloria and Stann find themselves in a world falling apart. Stann is tortured by his crazy brutal father and the rest of the family. Meanwhile, the police pursue Stann for murder but it was the father who was the assassin. Stann refuses to denounce him, and he disappears, leaving the family to Gloria who had already left behind a troubled world in the United States. Gloria is now both provocateur and mediator. A strange and poignant fable.
The Soldier's TaleThe Soldier's Tale · 2010
The Soldier's Tale
2010
MovieDocumentary
The Soldier’s Tale is a deeply personal documentary about the Iraq War that takes us places no mere journalistic inquiry could go. Sergeant R. approaches director Allen on a plane headed for the U.S. carrying a laptop full of electronic memories shot by fellow soldiers—the digital “war porn” they capture on smartphones and trade like baseball cards. After the soldier mails her a CD with all his images, the two meet in a motel somewhere in the U.S. and he narrates the war for Allen—before trudging back to the battlefield.

More Like This

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter