Steve Tientcheu
Set in Abidjan’s MACA prison, the aging Black Beard, in attempt to maintain control over his fellow inmates, resorts to a “story” ritual, wherein one prisoner is forced, Scheherazade-style, to tell stories for an entire night. The young pickpocket he chooses relays the haunting tale of the Zama King.
Inspired by the 2005 riots in Paris, Stéphane, a recent transplant to the impoverished suburb of Montfermeil, joins the local anti-crime squad. Working alongside his unscrupulous colleagues Chris and Gwada, Stéphane struggles to maintain order amidst the mounting tensions between local gangs. When an arrest turns unexpectedly violent, the three officers must reckon with the aftermath and keep the neighborhood from spiraling out of control.
Max, Paul and Simon have been friends for 35 years. They take great pleasure in their one vacation a year together without their partners and meet-up regularly to spend evenings drinking or playing cards. Each has a successful career and they all appear to have perfect lives until the night Simon announces to his friends that he has just strangled his wife, Estelle after a blazing row. Max and Paul are horrified by Simon’s confession, but worse is to come when Simon asks them to lie and provide him with an alibi for the time Estelle was killed. Both men are torn between lying or turning over their best friend to the police.
Arnaud, facing an uncertain future and a dearth of choices in a small French coastal town, meets and falls for the apocalyptic-minded Madeleine, who joins an army boot camp to learn military and survival skills to prepare for the upcoming environmental collapse. Intrigued and excited by Madeleine’s wild ideas, Arnaud signs up for the boot camp himself. They soon realize that the boot camp is harder than they’d imagined, but the experience nonetheless cements them together as the couple continues to explore their young love.
Afghanistan 2014 As the withdrawal of troops approaches, Captain Antarès Bonassieu and his squad have been assigned a surveillance mission in a remote valley of Wakhan, on the border of Pakistan. Despite Antarès and his men’s determination, control of the secluded valley will slowly fall out of their hands. One dark night, soldiers begin to mysteriously disappear in the valley.
