Farès Ladjimi

Perfumed with Mint

Alaa is a 30-year-old doctor. In his clinic one day, he is visited by Mahdy, an old friend who needs help with a strange phenomenon afflicting him: mint is sprouting from his body. Alaa and Mahdy are without shelter. The scent of mint attracts danger, which chases them through their deteriorating city. They are led through a series of disturbing encounters with former companions. Those who were once bonded by devotion are now estranged, faithless, and reeking of mint. Will the two friends find a way out of this nightmare, constantly chased by memories of loss? Or will they be left to dry, waiting and hiding in the streets where they once lived peacefully?

Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation

Set amongst derelict, half-finished apartment complexes of a former regime, the discovery of a mysterious burnt body by two police officers reveals a puzzling repetition of events. As the investigation progresses, a network of violence and corruption is uncovered throughout the city.

Rojek

After the impressive Gulistan, Land of Roses (VdR 2016), the Kurdish filmmaker Zaynê Akyol returns with these conversations with imprisoned members of the Islamic State, alternating their words with aerial views of the countryside. An unexpected look at a far-reaching current political issue and a film whose subject matter and rhythm create an impressive cinematic object.

Savage State

Saint Charles County, Missouri, December 1863. Edmond, a prosperous French perfume merchant, decides to flee to a safer place when the storms of the American Civil War start knocking at his door, threatening the life and fortune of his family.

Look at Me

Torn between the life he thought he could leave behind in Tunisia and the life he’s created for himself in Marseille, a man finds himself at a crucial crossroads, in Nejib Belkadhi’s latest.

Ugly Nasty People

A group of physically disabled lowlifes plans the the perfect heist, but things go south as each reveals an agenda of their own.

Sweet Smell of Spring

In 2011 Tunisia, as the Arab Spring awakens, unemployed graduate Aziz, nicknamed Zizou (Zied Ayadi), travels from his Saharan village to the big city of Tunis in search of a job. From television aerial installation to political intrigue, this fresh-faced young Candide will learn the ways of the world, fall in love with the ravishing Aicha (Sara Hanachi), and become famous.--Eddie Cockrell, FilmFest DC

Thanks Boss!

A family fired by a company owned by LVMH (Group owned by French billionaire, Bernard Arnault) seeks reparation from their previous employer with the help of the movie director.

Bastardo

Larger-than-life characters populate director Nejib Belkadhi’s spellbinding combination of film noir and magic realism, which follows a downtrodden orphan — now grown but still saddled with a cruel nickname — who has a reversal of fortune and takes on the thugs who control his ghetto.

The Prize

Ceci, a seven year old girl, has to keep a huge secret, but she doesn't completely understand what is the secret about. The life of her family depends on her silence. But what exactly must she keep silent about? Ceci and her mom live hidden from military repression in Argentina. Ceci asks herself: what must she say? What should she really believe and do in order to deserve the love of her mother and others?

Andalucia

Yacine is in his 30s, of Algerian origins, and has come to Paris looking for inner peace. A playful and poetic quest leads him via all kinds of strange encounters to an increasingly surrealist world and to Andalusia: a state of mind.

Darwin's Nightmare

Africa in the sixties. The Nile perch, a ravenous predator, is introduced into Lake Victoria as a scientific experiment, causing the extinction of many native species. Its meat is exported everywhere in exchange for weapons, creating a globalized evil alliance on the lake shores. An infernal nightmare in the real world that wipes out Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

Ashes

Nabil returns to Beirut with the ashes of his father who died abroad. He tries to overcome his bereavement while his family insists on respecting rites and customs by burying a non-existent corpse.

Little Light

Fatima is a little girl of eight years. By opening and closing the refrigerator, she wonders if the light stays on when the door closes...