Nassim, a 16-year-old boy, is placed with a family in the suburbs following the death of his drug addict mother. But he refuses to integrate into the social setting that surrounds him. He invents another life for himself, similar to that of his mates at the big Parisian high school he goes to. There’s no reason for that to change. His two lives, his home life and his school life, must be kept separate at all costs.
Acting
Alouach's guarded, watchful performance — every silence speaks.
Direction
Chenouga's patient eye for the spaces between words.
Director
Chad Chenouga
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film captures a specific post-2015 Parisian banlieue experience rarely seen in French cinema — suburban isolation rather than explosive conflict.
Chenouga cast mostly non-professional actors from the actual neighborhoods; Alouach was discovered at a community center in Seine-Saint-Denis.
FR
