Es-Stouh

A band rehearsing before a concert, an estate agent torturing a disobedient partner, a crazy war veteran chained to a kennel, an old religious fanatic physically punishing women make up just a fragment of the number of characters that the camera follows on five roofs in five different neighborhoods. Seventy-year-old director, Allouache, a fearless commentator on local events, spreads the tragicomic snippets of human stories in front of the viewer just as naturally and nonchalantly as the white Algiers spreads in front of the protagonists' eyes. The contrast of the airy rooftops and thoroughly oppressive conditions of their inhabitants makes the film an unsettling spectacle. (Febiofest)