The Source (2011 film)

The Source (La Source des femmes) is a 2011 French drama-comedy film directed by Radu Mihăileanu, starring Leïla Bekhti and Hafsia Herzi. It premiered In Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot
Set in a remote village in North Africa, the story focuses on women who go on a sex strike against having to fetch water from a distant well. The story is an adaptation of the ancient greek comedy Lysistrata.

Cast

 * Leïla Bekhti as Leila
 * Hafsia Herzi as Loubna Esmeralda
 * Sabrina Ouazani as Rachida
 * Saleh Bakri as Sami
 * Hiam Abbass as Fatima
 * Biyouna as The Old Gun
 * Zinedine Soualem

Production
The film was produced by France's Elzevir Films and Oï Oï Oï Productions, in co-production with France 3 Cinéma and EuropaCorp. Other than the 64% French investment, Belgian companies contributed 14%, Italian 12% and Moroccan 10%. It was pre-bought by Canal+ and CinéCinéma and received support from Eurimages. The total budget was 7.99 million euro.

Release
The Source premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May. EuropaCorp Distribution released it in France on 2 November 2011.