ABOU LEILA

Algeria, 1994, in the midst of the civil war. A road-trip drama that follows two lifelong friends as they head to the Sahara desert in search of the titular terrorist, gradually facing mental breakdown and exhaustion. Reality and fantasy intertwine on the duo’s journey, which is as much metaphorical and emotional as literal, depicting the fragile inner state of two men cruelly accustomed to a life of constant threat, lurking paranoia and palpable terror. An absurdist western, full of striking symbolisms and pinches of surrealism, that reflects upon the corrosive power of war.