Amid Chakir

Belgian filmmaker Eric Pauwels' meditation on dream, travel and film.

Mahfoud is a young teacher at a technical school in Algiers. Using his technical and computer skills, he refurbishes an old weaving loom that he intends to present at an international inventors’ conference in Germany. However, his travel plans are thwarted by administrative obstacles. Meanwhile, his neighbors keep a close eye on him, especially the elderly M’nouar, marked by the terrible memories of the Algerian War. He sees everything and everyone with suspicion. As far as he is concerned, Mahfoud has no good intentions—he may even be involved in subversive activities. Naturally, it does not help that Mahfoud is in a relationship with Samia, a young psychiatrist who has returned to the country after studying in Belgium. She challenges local norms and breaks taboos that unsettle those around her. In the end, Mahfoud manages to obtain a visa to attend the international fair. His invention wins a prize, and when he returns home, he receives a very different kind of welcome.

Martin, a drifter, is on his way to Istanbul when he meets Willy, a student working in Belgium. Fascinated by Martin, Willy decides to go with him to Istanbul, but soon discovers pieces of his dark past.

Several young men and women arrive one after the other at Hôtel des Acacias, full of hope, desire and vitality. In the bustle of this hotel, everyone is looking for love. Hôtel des Acacias was an exercise guided in 1982 by Chantal Akerman at Belgium’s INSAS audio-visual college.

Three 'Bukowskian' torrid nights in the life of a man, Harry, in search of love. The first is as a youth, the second on the day of his high school graduation, and the third as a lonely, middle-aged man.

Directed by Kamal Dehane

Max is a Sicilian living in Brussels who makes a living as a hairdresser. His flourishing business goes bankrupt when he gets hairdresser's eczema overnight. He loses his customers and his wife. What is more, he is in trouble with the law. At the police station, he encounters heavyweight Bobo who asks him for all his money. When Max refuses, Bobo gets the impression that he must be tough. In reality, he just wants to be left alone. In his good old days, Max never cared for anyone, so now there is no one he can turn to. Bobo, who spent all his life in foster homes and youth centers, seems to be the only one to care for him. Together they devise a plan to find some quick money. Bobo's idea is to rob a jewelry store.

Brahim is a young man, and secretly gay. At his mother’s birthday party, tensions around his unaccepted sexuality become unbearable. Brahim flees the oppressive family home into the night, where a terrible encounter awaits...