JIFF: The Blond Boy from the Casbah

The Story

Australian Premiere

“A declaration of love to cinema and to his hometown.” Les Fiches du Cinéma

“Both lucid and melancholic...a moving film…with a beating heart.” Télérama

Antoine Lisner, a successful filmmaker, returns to his birthplace of Algiers with his young son to present his new film: an account of his childhood in mid-20th century Algeria during the country's civil war.

As Antoine wanders through the city, childhood memories flood back – of school, friends, his Sephardic family, and the colourful mix of characters who surrounded them. He remembers discovering his passion for cinema, and of growing civil unrest that will change his beloved city forever. The National Liberation Front (FLN), demanding freedom for Algeria from French rule, turned protests into riots, and with the looming presence of civil war and antisemitism, his family was forced to leave it all behind.

From esteemed Jewish filmmaker Alexandre Arcady and adapted from his memoir of the same name, this luminous metatextual period film is a bittersweet portrayal of a lost world, and of how a young boy in Algeria came to understand who he truly is.

Rating

Unclassified 15+

Duration

124 min

Cast

Léo Campion, Marie Gillain, Dany Brillant, Christian Berkel, Pascal Elbé

Director

Alexandre Arcady