Chouf: It means “look” in Arabic, but it is also the name of the watchmen in the drug cartels of Marseille. Sofiane is 20. A brilliant student, he comes back to spend his holiday in the Marseille ghetto where he was born. His brother, a dealer, gets shot before his eyes. Sofiane gives up on his studies and gets involved in the drug network, ready to avenge him. He quickly rises to the top and becomes the boss’s right hand. Trapped by the system, Sofiane is dragged into a spiral of violence…
Acting
Sofian Khammes carries the whole damn thing on his shoulders.
Cinematography
Marseille's projects shot like characters themselves.
Direction
Dridi refuses to glamorize a single frame.
Director
Karim Dridi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in actual Marseille cités with non-professional locals, grounding fiction in lived reality.
The real 'chouf' system—lookouts earning €50-200/day—was collapsing by 2016 as encrypted phones took over.
FR
