Yanis Koussim
Directing
Biography
After studying at La Fémis, Yanis Koussim directed several short films, including Khouya (which won awards at Locarno and Amiens, and was in the official selection at Clermont-Ferrand) and Khti. He then participated in the documentary Un été à Alger : the Night, which premiered at the Palais de Tokyo, and co-wrote the screenplays for R. Obermayer’s I Still Hide to Smoke, and El Zahia, the upcoming feature film by Adila Bendimerad and Damien Ounouri. He is the founder of Plateau19, a collective of filmmakers who campaign for independent cinema in Algeria.
Known For
Two parallel stories. In the present day, the disciple of an old Raqi (a Muslim exorcist) fears that his master’s dementia will unleash evil. In 1992, after a car accident that left him with amnesia, Ahmed returns to his village, where nothing seems familiar to him: neither his wife nor his children. His youngest son, frightened by Ahmed’s bandaged face, is deeply afraid of him.
Roqia
One evening in Algiers, Myassa is raped by a man with a limp dick. Back home, she can't take a shower because the plumbing is broken. She has two priorities: file a complaint and find a plumber. She ends up face to face with her rapist.
Mollement, un samedi matin
In an Algerian family, three young sisters are terrorized by an arrogant brother who regularly beats them in front of their mother. In the husband's absence, the son has taken control of the household, and the mother does nothing to restrain him and put an end to the girls' ordeal. Until the day the confrontation turns tragic.
Khouya
They come from completely different worlds, but over the course of a single day and night, their lives collide. What starts as a clinical relationship slowly turns into something deeper—almost like a shared understanding of the same struggle.