Synopsis
A surreal mirror of present-day Algeria: during the civil war, two policeman undertake a nightmarish trip through the desert. In 1994, S. and Lotfi, two policemen and friends since childhood, drive through the Sahara. They’re looking for Abou Leila, a dangerous terrorist, who is on the run. The whole trip seems pointless, as the desert hasn’t been affected by the wave of violence that is gripping the rest of the country. For Lotfi there is only one aim: keeping S. as far as possible from the capital, because he knows that his friend can’t take any more bloodshed. Yet, the deeper they venture into the void, the more they are confronted with their own violent civil war history.
Bio
AMIN SIDI-BOUMÉDIÈNE (*1982) studied film at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français in Paris and his shorts Tomorrow, Algiers? (2010) and The Island (2012) won several prizes. Abou Leila is his his debut full-length film.
Info
Original Title: Abou Leila
International Title: Abou Leila
Category: Feature
Section: Kaleidoskop
Version & Subtitles: Arabic, Tamasheq OV with English subtitles
Director & Screenplay: Amin Sidi-Boumédiène
Cast/Protagonists: Slimane Benouari, Lyes Salem, Azouz Abdelkader, Fouad Megiraga, Meryem Medjkane, Hocine Mokhtar, Samir El Hakim
Production country: Algeria, France, Qatar
Year of Production: 2019
Length: 139 min
Producer: Claire Charles-Gervais, Louise Bellicaud, Fayçal Hammoum, Yacine Bouaziz
Production company: In Vivo Films, Thala Films
Cinematography: Kanamé Onoyama
Editor: Amin Sidi-Boumédiène
Production Design: Hamid Boughrara, Laurent Le Corre
World Sales: Isabel Ivars, Films Boutique
