ROQIA
synopsis
In 1993, after a car crash leaves Ahmed with amnesia, he returns to his village where nothing seems familiar—not his wife, nor his children. His youngest child, disturbed by Ahmed’s fully bandaged face, harbors a deep fear of him. Each night, mysterious visitors torment Ahmed, whispering litanies in an incomprehensible language. Who are these strange figures? And why does his so-called friend, the neighbor, make him feel so uneasy? In the present day, an ageing Raqi (a Muslim exorcist) struggles with Alzheimer’s disease. His forgetfulness and erratic behavior alarm his disciple who begins to fear the worst as violence intensifies in the city and the possessed speak in an unknown tongue. While Ahmed, in the past, dreads regaining his memory, the disciple, in the present, fears that his master’s decline will unleash an ancient evil.
international title: | Roqia |
original title: | Roqia |
country: | Algeria, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia |
sales agent: | Alpha Violet |
year: | 2025 |
genre: | fiction |
directed by: | Yanis Koussim |
film run: | 94' |
screenplay: | Yanis Koussim |
cast: | Ali Namous, Akram Djeghim, Mostéfa Djadjam, Hanaa Mansour, Lydia Hanni |
cinematography by: | Jean-Marie Delorme |
film editing: | Sarah Zaanoun, Maxime Pozzi-Garcia |
costumes designer: | Jean-Marc Mireté |
producer: | Farès Ladjimi, Yanis Koussim |
production: | Supernova Films, 19 Mulholland Drive (DZ), Doha Film Institute (QA), Red Sea Fund (SA) |