Love Reinvented

To be able to travel to Europe and find the love of his life, Sam Ali, a Syrian refugee, accepts to have his back tattooed by one of the most sulfurous contemporary artist; becoming that way a precious work of art.

Fatima, an Algerian-born woman who now lives in France with her two teenage daughters, with whom she is barely able to communicate.

November, 1953. Pauline Dubuisson is accused of the cold-bloodied murder of her lover Félix. But who exactly is this young woman that the whole of France wants to see convicted? A cold calculating social climber? Or a free spirit, asserting her emancipation before it became fashionable?

During the Algerian War (1954-1962), many impoverished young Algerian men, known as "Harkis", volunteered to join the French Army. Salah and Kaddour find themselves under the orders of Lieutenant Pascal. But as the conflict draws to an end, the prospect of independence looms. The outlook for Harkis seems bleak. Lieutenant Pascal confronts his superiors, insisting that every single man in his platoon must be evacuated to France.

Samia is a teenage girl belonging to a family of Algerian Muslims who have settled in the southern French town of Marseilles. Although lured by the pleasures and opportunities that contemporary Western culture offers her, Samia is continually restrained by her family. Naturally, they expect her to follow their traditions to the letter and, for a woman, this means staying at home all day looking after their men folk. In the end, Samia has no option but to rebel against her family and find a new life for herself…

"Fiertés" retraces the fight for the rights of sexual minorities in France through the intimate story of three generations and three destinies of men.

Amin has come from Senegal to work in France, leaving behind his wife Aïcha, and their three children. He leads a solitary life in France, where the only space he occupies is his home and the building sites on which he works. Most of his earnings are sent to Senegal. One day, he meets a woman, Gabrielle, and a relationship is born.

Three young men meet Djamel (Yassine Azzouz), a charismatic manipulator, who turns the three friends against society.

To escape her violent stepfather Denis, 16-year-old Nismet decides to flee her home and ends up on the street of her own free will. The teenager has not yet told her mentally unstable mother about the attempts at violence by Denis. Nismet struggles on alone for the time being and is worried when she suddenly can no longer reach Najoua. Has Denis possibly done something to her? Shortly afterwards, the runaway is picked up by the police and placed in a temporary home for children and young people. There she finds a friend in Souad. A juvenile court judge finally wants to find a solution together with Najoua and Denis.

This film about the Algerian war shown at the April-May 2006 San Francisco International Film Festival was also currently on view in theaters in France.

A young girl is deprived of her baby: her descent into hell begins. Still in high-school, Agnès leaves her alcoholic father, finds a boyfriend and gets pregnant. Giving birth to a baby boy, deprived of him by her her stepmother, left by her boyfriend, she find shelter by junkies friends and subsequently turns to prostitution under the name Sabine only to become HIV-positive. In her diary, the young woman recounts her fight against the disease without ever sinking into despair.

In this coming of age drama, 17-year old Muriel rebels against her French family and leaves for the bright lights of Paris. When she falls for Nora, Muriel enters a journey of heartbreak and discovery.

Elie is at a loss. His mother, Esther, is ill and needs constant assistance but doesn't like any of the carers that come forward. Seeing his distress, the nurse Sélima proposes the services of her mother, Halima, a practising Muslim. Against all the odds, the two women become firm friends.

In this short two young black men live together in France. When one decides that he's pregnant and the craving that he has for caviar must be satisfied, his lover goes in search. While he may not be pregnant he does reward his boyfriend upon his return for being such a good provider.

April 1995. When Selim, a young Marseillais of Algerian origin, tells his parents that he is homosexual, they reject him. Called to the flag, he decides to become a blue helmet in Bosnia.

A series of shorts about the AIDS crisis, homosexuality, and the reinvention of love in such conditions.