Aida Guechoud

Thicker Than Water

Louiza

A journalist's life devolves into chaos when she shields her brother from the law, inadvertently entangling her family in a drug lord's merciless scheme.

L’Incendie (El Harik)

In 1939 in eastern Algeria, Omar, a young boy of ten, lives with his family in a room in Dar Sbitar, a house shared by several families who overcome the trials they go through every day to ensure their subsistence. Her deceased father is Aïni, the mother, who bleeds herself from all four veins to keep her children and their grandmother alive. The families of Dar Sbitar share their intimacy and their daily life, this life animates the big house, which itself becomes a character in its own right. "El Harik" (The Fire), is an Algerian drama series in 10 episodes adapted from Mohamed Dib's trilogy "The Big House", "The Fire" and "The Loom".

Papicha

Saliha

Nedjma, an 18-year-old student passionate about fashion design refuses to let the tragic events of the Algerian Civil War keep her from experiencing a normal life. As the social climate becomes more conservative, she rejects the new bans set by the radicals and decides to put on a fashion show.

The Congregation

Driven by an urgent need to amass a large sum of money in a short time, a man assembles a team specializing in theft and fraud, leveraging its members' skills in disguise and deception to exploit their victims. Though united by a common goal, each member harbors their own motives and ambitions.

Demain, Alger?

Three guys have a discussion sitting on the ground floor of their building. Their conversation is about their best friend's trip and a strange event that is meant to take place the next day. Upstairs, Fouad packs his bags. He still doesn't know whether he'll dare to say goodbye to them or not.

Front Row

Up bright and early with their pet in tow, Zohra Bouderbala and her five children are heading to the beach. This is not a drill! In Algiers, the coveted front row spot waits for no one, but it’s not this family’s first time having to beat the summer seaside crowds. The unmotivated and out-of-luck masses who arrive too late will be left to a viewless laze in the sun, the alleged horizon blocked by a fortress of parasols and flowing canopies.

Planet Malek

Self (Actress)

Ahmed Malek’s name might have been forgotten by his fellow Algerians but his timeless tunes certainly haven’t. Called the Ennio Morricone of Algiers, he composed music for more than 200 movies, amongst which the most famous films of the Algerian New Wave in the 70s and the 80s can be found. Paloma Colombe, a DJ, digger and documentary director, went to Algiers to meet his daughter, friends and former coworkers. Images of the city by night offer a perfect background to Ahmed Malek’s music. Globetrotter, pioneer of electronic music and of the concept of the home studio, he created a unique sound that truly goes beyond genres and countries.

Leila and the Others

Meriem

The story of Algerian women trying to live in 1970s Algeria where the society is between conservative values and progressive modern Algeria.

Investigating Paradise

Young Algerian journalist Nedjma is investigating Islamic accounts of paradise. She is particularly interested in the descriptions used by Salafi preachers to recruit young Algerian men as jihadists. She and her colleague Mustapha find a number of disturbing, richly embellished video sermons and decide to explore the phenomenon in more detail.

Les Palmiers Blessés

Saïda

Bizerte, winter of 1991. The first Gulf War is brewing amid international tension. A Tunisian writer entrusts the typing of an autobiographical manuscript to a young girl, Chama, who is looking for work. Inspired by the book's content, young Chama feels the need to delve deeper into the events of the Bizerte War, especially since her father, a patriotic volunteer, lost his life there.

Douar de Femmes

At a dangerous time in Algeria, 'Douar de Femmes' is a story of ordinary women who manage to defend themselves in extraordinary situations. The film focuses on a small village that has been attacked more often by terrorists from the surrounding mountains. While the men work, the women learn how to handle machine guns and explore the area. “Fear has armed us,” says the young woman Sabrina. But despite that fear, people get married, children come and keep watch.