UN/BELONGING presents films that share intimate stories from the North African immigrant experience in France. Set in varying temporalities and socio-political contexts, these fiction films reflect recurring and parallel struggles of individuals adapting to new realities in France and North Africa. The leading characters echo each other through scenes of perpetual wandering, in their pursuits for livelihood, safety, freedom, and ultimately, belonging. Despite their best efforts, they are all caught between the clutches of circumstances beyond their control. Yet, in the midst of such unrelenting and indifferent societies, these accounts shed necessary and humanizing light on the lingering realities of alienation and the search for a life worth living.
Dina Amer’s You Resemble Me tells the story of Hasna, a young girl raised on the outskirts of Paris who was torn apart from her sister at an early age and placed in rotating foster homes. Struggling to find her identity and purpose, she finds herself caught in cycles of intergenerational trauma. The audience bears witness to transformations within Hasna, brought on by perpetual disappointments, heartbreaks and institutionalized barriers in her life that lead her on a path of no return.
In Latifa Said’s Unquiet Days, Fadila, a cabaret singer, arrives in a town outside of Marseille in search of refuge during the Algerian civil war (1991-2002). Having fled from Oran due to threats on her life by extremist Islamist groups who opposed her profession, she is faced with feelings of immense loss, solitude and disorientation as she attempts to situate herself in a new reality.
Moumen Smihi’s Si Moh, the Unlucky Man presents a day in the life of a Moroccan migrant worker who has just set foot in France. While roaming the city for work, he encounters other migrants who share his experiences of displacement. This intimate account is rendered through Smihi’s experimental and striking lens alongside an engrossing soundtrack by sound artist Gerard Delassus.
Unquiet Days (Jours Intranquilles), Latifa Said, France, 2016, 29 min.
French with English Subtitles
Synopsis: Unquiet Days is the story of Fadila, a cabaret singer who escapes Oran after being threatened to death by religious fundamentalists. Algeria is in the middle of a civil war. She arrives to Aubagne, close to Marseille, to the home of one of her friends. But her friend does not live there anymore, so she wanders in a village where she does not know anyone, until the day she meets a former legionnaire who also lived for a few years in Algeria.
About the filmmaker: Latifa Said initially worked as professional photographer for institutions and magazines such as Télérama, GéoAdo or The League Against the Cancer. In March 2015, she wrote her first screenplay, "Jours Intranquilles" (Unquiet Days), winning first prize of the SIRAR Bourse at the International Aubagne Film Festival. It was produced by Le GREC (Groupe de Recherche et d'Essais Cinématographiques) and was selected in some twenty festivals. In 2017, she directed a second short film, "Terrain Vague" (Wasteland), shot in 35mm, and produced by Saudade Productions and Bando à Parte. The film had its world premiere at the Curtas Vila do Conde competition (Portugal, 2017) and was selected in almost 100 festivals, winning 20 prizes, including a Jury Special Mention at the Fameck Arab Film Festival, in France, First Prize at Festival Ecran Libre d'Aigues-Mortes, in France, and Grand Prix Best Short 2017 in Festival du Film de Sarlat, in France. In 2018 she directed the short documentary "Tahiti", entirely shot in Alger and in the following year she completed another short fiction, "La Chambre" (The Room) which is currently available on Netflix. In 2021, she directed the short film "Toutes les Nuits" (Behind Closed Doors), which was among the official selections of the International Festival of Francophone Film in Acadie (FICFA) (Canada, 2021). In 2022, "Toutes les Nuits" won Best Short at Avanca Film Festival 2022, and the Cinematic Achievement Award at TISFF, among other awards. Latifa Said is currently preparing her first feature, "Plus Longue Sera la Nuit" (Longer Will Be the Night), to be shot in Algeria.
- Year2016
- Runtime29 minutes
- LanguageFrench
- CountryFrance
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorLatifa Said
UN/BELONGING presents films that share intimate stories from the North African immigrant experience in France. Set in varying temporalities and socio-political contexts, these fiction films reflect recurring and parallel struggles of individuals adapting to new realities in France and North Africa. The leading characters echo each other through scenes of perpetual wandering, in their pursuits for livelihood, safety, freedom, and ultimately, belonging. Despite their best efforts, they are all caught between the clutches of circumstances beyond their control. Yet, in the midst of such unrelenting and indifferent societies, these accounts shed necessary and humanizing light on the lingering realities of alienation and the search for a life worth living.
Dina Amer’s You Resemble Me tells the story of Hasna, a young girl raised on the outskirts of Paris who was torn apart from her sister at an early age and placed in rotating foster homes. Struggling to find her identity and purpose, she finds herself caught in cycles of intergenerational trauma. The audience bears witness to transformations within Hasna, brought on by perpetual disappointments, heartbreaks and institutionalized barriers in her life that lead her on a path of no return.
In Latifa Said’s Unquiet Days, Fadila, a cabaret singer, arrives in a town outside of Marseille in search of refuge during the Algerian civil war (1991-2002). Having fled from Oran due to threats on her life by extremist Islamist groups who opposed her profession, she is faced with feelings of immense loss, solitude and disorientation as she attempts to situate herself in a new reality.
Moumen Smihi’s Si Moh, the Unlucky Man presents a day in the life of a Moroccan migrant worker who has just set foot in France. While roaming the city for work, he encounters other migrants who share his experiences of displacement. This intimate account is rendered through Smihi’s experimental and striking lens alongside an engrossing soundtrack by sound artist Gerard Delassus.
Unquiet Days (Jours Intranquilles), Latifa Said, France, 2016, 29 min.
French with English Subtitles
Synopsis: Unquiet Days is the story of Fadila, a cabaret singer who escapes Oran after being threatened to death by religious fundamentalists. Algeria is in the middle of a civil war. She arrives to Aubagne, close to Marseille, to the home of one of her friends. But her friend does not live there anymore, so she wanders in a village where she does not know anyone, until the day she meets a former legionnaire who also lived for a few years in Algeria.
About the filmmaker: Latifa Said initially worked as professional photographer for institutions and magazines such as Télérama, GéoAdo or The League Against the Cancer. In March 2015, she wrote her first screenplay, "Jours Intranquilles" (Unquiet Days), winning first prize of the SIRAR Bourse at the International Aubagne Film Festival. It was produced by Le GREC (Groupe de Recherche et d'Essais Cinématographiques) and was selected in some twenty festivals. In 2017, she directed a second short film, "Terrain Vague" (Wasteland), shot in 35mm, and produced by Saudade Productions and Bando à Parte. The film had its world premiere at the Curtas Vila do Conde competition (Portugal, 2017) and was selected in almost 100 festivals, winning 20 prizes, including a Jury Special Mention at the Fameck Arab Film Festival, in France, First Prize at Festival Ecran Libre d'Aigues-Mortes, in France, and Grand Prix Best Short 2017 in Festival du Film de Sarlat, in France. In 2018 she directed the short documentary "Tahiti", entirely shot in Alger and in the following year she completed another short fiction, "La Chambre" (The Room) which is currently available on Netflix. In 2021, she directed the short film "Toutes les Nuits" (Behind Closed Doors), which was among the official selections of the International Festival of Francophone Film in Acadie (FICFA) (Canada, 2021). In 2022, "Toutes les Nuits" won Best Short at Avanca Film Festival 2022, and the Cinematic Achievement Award at TISFF, among other awards. Latifa Said is currently preparing her first feature, "Plus Longue Sera la Nuit" (Longer Will Be the Night), to be shot in Algeria.
- Year2016
- Runtime29 minutes
- LanguageFrench
- CountryFrance
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorLatifa Said