From Director Yacine Balah comes a short film called Freres Ennemis. Inspired by a true incident, the short film reflects on the time when Algeria was fighting for its independence from France, and how a few individuals gave their lives for the cause.

Salem Kali

A dedication to his dear father whom Salem Kali portrays as Massoud, Yacine Balah has brought in Freres Ennemis a true incident that took place in 1958.  The director says that the reason behind making this short film was to heal the scars of the unfortunate war. He also puts emphasis on the importance of conveying the forgotten aspects of the history of Algeria to the present generation.

Francois David Cardonnel

Starring in the lead role, Salem Kali plays the character of Massaoud, an Algerian FLN Fighter who is on the run from the French army. With him, he carries a mysterious suitcase. What that suitcase has in it is only known by the French Liutenant Messard (Francois David Cardonnel) and Massaoud. Desperate to find help, Massaoud takes shelter in an empty home. There he confronts Belkacem (Abel Jafri), a man of the same origin, who carries a sad secret within him.

Abel Jafri

The short film was Shot 20km away from Orleans in a secluded village in France. Salem Kali and Abel Jaffri both give a strong performance opposite each other. Cinematographer Ludovic Zulli helps in keeping the pace of the film balanced. The music is given by Mohand Sahridj and Jérémie Tuil which highlights the tension and suspence. Lucile Leidier, the costume desighner did a wonderful job of dressing up the men in the 1950s attire, making the characters look more realistic.

The director would like to give his special thanks to Kamel Guemra and Morade Aissaoui of Boogieman Production,  who helped in Freres Ennemis getting officially selected in Festival Les Pepites du Cinema 2013, Festival du Film de Vendome Hors Competition 2013, Human Rights Film Festival of Barcelona 2014 and Film Festival Africa of London 2015. Yacine Balah would also like to extend his gratitude to the entire team, which made this short film possible, and the way he wanted it to be made.

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Watch the Short Film below: