Thursday 6th July 2017
Chawki Knis, Kamel Laaridhi, Mohamed Ismail Louati and Ala Eddine Slim
Distinctive and bold, Tunisian director Ala Eddine Slim tells the story of 'N', an anonymous sub-Saharan man on a journey to Europe. He crosses the desert in order to reach North Africa and be smuggled into Europe but after being a victim to a hold-up, he finds himself alone in Tunisia. He decides to cross the sea by himself, steals a small boat and embarks on his crossing journey. When his boat breaks down in the middle of the sea, a very different journey begins. He travels to different, infinite spaces, makes ephemeral yet intense encounters, and meets an altered image of himself. Reflecting on the question of borders and contemporary solitude, Slim oscillates between a recognisable reality and magical realism as N finds himself in an enchanted - perhaps imaginary - territory where he becomes, in the director's words "a missing body", literally morphing into his surroundings.