LES BIENHEUREUX

Credits

Name: LES BIENHEUREUX

Country: Frankreich/Belgien/Katar/Algerien

Year of publication: 2017

Format: DCP

Language : OF arab./frz. m. engl. UT; DCP

Duration: 107 Minuten

Direction: Djama, Sofia

Abstract

Algiers, 2008: a few years after the end of the civil war, Amal and Samir spend their 20th wedding anniversary in a restaurant; however they don’t feel like celebrating. The an-niversary conjures up memories of the ‘Algerian Spring’ in 1988 and the ensuing dark years intrinsically linked to the couple’s hopes and hurts. Their son Fahim and his friends, on the other hand, represent the next generation in LES BIENHEUREUX. They long for freedom while carry-ing their parents’ traumas within themselves and are sur-rounded by a new omnipresent form of obscurantism.In her first feature-length film, director Sofia Djama portrays the daily lives of a diverse group of protagonists, confronting two generations with their joint past. By exposing the traumas within Algerian society, she initiates an intergenerational dia-logue on the country’s future.