Brahim Derris

Haroun is an old bachelor who has lived in Oran for several years. A retired civil servant, he leads a reclusive life until the day he meets Kamel in a bar—a journalist to whom he tells an incredible story dating back to 1942. He claims to be the brother of ‘the Arab’ killed in a story told in one of the most famous novels of the 20th century, ‘The Stranger’ by Albert Camus. An Arab with an erased name: Moussa. Through anger, assertions, details, and confidences, Haroun finally convinces the journalist to listen to his story. His confession is a cry of freedom and distress—but above all, a cry of revolt: against an abusive mother, against a country that failed to achieve true independence, against a book, and against a famous French writer.

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.

The kidnapping of a little girl creates tension and suspicion in Algiers. Only Dounia, a brilliant psychiatrist, and Sami, a police inspector, can unearth the demons of the past.

Rachid, a retired colonel and former freedom fighter, mysteriously disappears carrying a rifle from his past, while Djamel, a young man from a working-class neighborhood, sets off on an unexpected night adventure. On a remote rural road, their paths cross in a strange encounter that unfolds into a series of absurd and comedic situations, where memory collides with reality in a journey full of surprises.