Abderrahmane Ikariouane

Algiers, 2019. As the Hirak is in full swing and the hope of profound political change sweeps across Algeria, Merouane, a former corrupt minister, and Khadidja, his exuberant wife, have only one thing in mind: to sell off their many ill-gotten assets and leave the country with their daughter Sarah before justice catches up with them. But amid the urgency and panic of this forced departure, each member of the family begins to assert themselves, and tensions multiply. Will the strong bonds holding the family together endure?

In the city of Guelma, which was once called Heliopolis in ancient times, the daily life of an Algerian family takes its usual course. But on May 8, 1945, the day the end of World War II was announced, demonstrations by the Algerian people against the French colonial power and for the country's independence took place, which were bloodily suppressed by the French army and French settler militias. The event went down in history as the Sétif and Guelma massacre.