20th Arab Film Festival

Friday, September 25 at 9:00 PM

ABOUT THE FILM

Haroun is an old bachelor who has been living in Oran for several years. A retired civil servant, he leads a reclusive life until, in a bar, he meets Kamel, a journalist to whom he tells an incredible story dating back to the summer of 1942. He claims to be the brother of the Arab killed in one of the most famous novels of the 20th century, Albert Camus’s The Stranger. An Arab whose erased name was Moussa. Through this revelation, the story challenges long-standing narratives and gives voice to what was once erased. Freely adapted from the novel The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud.

FILMMAKER BIO

Malek Bensmaïl is an Algerian filmmaker whose work powerfully explores the intersections of memory, history, and politics. Trained in cinema in Paris and Saint Petersburg, he has been developing since the 1990s a demanding body of work, grounded in reality yet open to the world. His films, Aliénations, China Is Still Far Away, Checks and Balances, and The Battle of Algiers, a Film Within History—offer a lucid and sensitive portrait of contemporary Algeria, caught between its colonial legacy and democratic aspirations. 

Celebrated at numerous international festivals, Bensmaïl continues with The Arab his exploration of identities and imaginaries across the Mediterranean. Through this new film, he questions the image of the Arab in a world in crisis, remaining true to his commitment to a cinema that is political, poetic, and deeply human.

PRESENTED BY MIZNA

Mizna is a critical platform for contemporary literature, film, art, and cultural production centering the work of Arab and Southwest Asian and North African artists. For more than 25 years, Mizna has been creating a decolonized cultural space to reflect the expansiveness of our community and to foster exchange, examine ideas, and engage audiences in meaningful art.