Pascal Verroust

On November 20, 1979 at 5:30 in the morning, hundreds of armed men take over the Grand Mosque of Mecca, transforming the holiest shrine of Islam into a fortress and a trap for almost 100,000 pilgrims inside. This was the beginning of the siege of Mecca…

Some days turn out to be simply unforgettable. For Marie, it all starts with a pregnancy test… that proves positive, a car accident and being fired from her job... For Hortense, mobile phone in hand, the frantic quest for sexual satisfaction begins in a traffic jam... For both Luis and Maurice, the unexpected appearance of a loved one pitches them into a world of dreams and nightmares. While some of the characters know each other, others come into contact by chance. One woman profits from all this, the other is shattered. One will have gone looking for trouble, the other will have asked for nothing. There'll be no fatalities.

Starting in 1944 in the wake of the Liberation and continuing into the '60s, 'houses of hope' were established to lend a semblance of continuity to youngsters orpahaned by the war. Nina's Home takes place between September 1944 and January 1946 in an orphanage housed in a chateau outside Paris. At the outset, the country residence is run by Nina who has a core population of French Jewish children whose parents are probably dead. Food is scarce. News of the Concentration Camps hasn't hit yet, but some months later, a contingent of youths arrive form the liberated camps. The children are a disparate, wild, damaged group and conflicts ensue. Nina's challenge is to help them make their first delicate moves toward the future and in the process restore all of them, including herself, to life.

Karnaval is set against a backdrop of intolerance and hostility in the gloomy Northern French city of Dunkirk. The story is set during carnival time, when the citizens let themselves loose for six weeks of partying, carousing and having a good time. The film centers on Larbi, an Arab youth, and his confrontation with one of the turning points of his life. After a violent argument with his father, Larbi decides to leave the family's business and go to Marseilles for a fresh start. On his last night in the town he grew up in, he sleeps in the hallway of an apartment building, where he is disturbed by Béa and Christian, a couple having fun at the carnival. Larbi is attracted to Béa and decides to stay a few more days to try his luck. In the free atmosphere of the carnival, Larbi discovers a world that he did not know existed, a world which is about to clash with his conservative outlook, and the three lives are changed forever.

Deng Xiaoping's economic and political opening in China. Margaret Thatcher's extreme economic measures in the United Kingdom. Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution in Iran. Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland. Saddam Hussein's rise to power in Iraq. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The nuclear accident at the Harrisburg power plant and the birth of ecological activism. The year 1979, the beginning of the future.

Philippe, 25, arrives one morning in Arcachon, where his sister lives. He is a young man with no ties, someone people easily confide in. He works seasonal jobs in the restaurant industry. Betty, 20, is a young mother full of life and tenderness for her 5-year-old son, Damien. They still live within the family household, but Betty's relationship with her father is strained. Damien is affected by this tense atmosphere. Betty finds a job, leaves the family home, and gains independence. Betty and Philippe will cross paths.

After the death of her husband, Lilia's life revolves solely around her teenage daughter, Salma. Whilst looking for Salma late one night, Lilia stumbles upon a belly dance cabaret and though initially reserved and taken aback by the culture of the place, Lilia gets consistently drawn back to it. She befriends one of the belly dancers and is encouraged into dancing for the audience. Lilia also starts a romance with one of the cabaret's musicians, who unbeknown to both of them, is also romancing Salma.

Early 1960s Haiti during 'Papa Doc' Duvalier's dictatorship seen through the eyes of a young girl whose family has suffered heavily.