Your daughter ghosted Christmas—now you're hunting her through Paris at 3am. Algerian dad energy activated.
Hakim and Latifa fled the Algerian civil war in the early 90s. They live since in the Jura, with their two daughters: Nedjma 14 years, and Leila, the eldest, left to study hair in Paris. Three days before Christmas, Nedjma receives a terse SMS from her older sister. She will not be able to come to join them for the holidays, pretexting once more an overload of work - Latifa attacks Hakim and pushes him to fetch Leïla. Nedjma will come with him, they will take the opportunity to discover Paris. Upon their arrival in the hair salon, they learn that Leila has actually never worked. It is the journey of a father who begins in Paris one night until dawn.
Acting
Roschdy Zem's silent devastation in every close-up
Cinematography
Paris as liminal ghost space, all neon and shadows
Direction
Ayadi's debut: 80 minutes, no fat, all ache
Director
Naidra Ayadi
Roschdy Zem
Hakim
Natacha Krief
Nedjema
Darina Al Joundi
Latifa
Camille Aguilar
Jessica
Doria Achour
Doria
Fayçal Safi
Morad
Meriem Serbah
Dounia
Valérie Sibilia
Hôtesse salon de coiffure
Emilie Piponnier
La shampouineuse
Marie Berto
La secrétaire école de coiffure
Sophie Mousel
La voisine de Leïla
Guillaume Briat
Patron bar Le Royal
Julien Cigana
Serveur bar Le Royal
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'Black Decade' (Algerian civil war 1991-2002) shadows everything unnamed here—families like this one fled but carry it in silence.
FR
