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.

A film by Yanis Koussim
with Ali Namous, Akram Djeghim, Mostéfa Djadjam, Hanaa Mansour, Lydia Hanni

Algeria / France, Feature Narrative, 90 min · Color, Original Language: Arabic

Director's note
Nightmares we have while sleeping exorcise our deepest fears once we are awakend. For over a century, horror movies took this role on a collective scale. Each era has its own fears, every fear has its outlets movies. "Ruqya" is my nightmare, it is any country's that has experienced a decade of indescribable fear due to Islamic terrorism. The more a nightmare seems real, the better it fulfills its purpose. In terms of both form and content, Ruqya will be as realistic as possible. No grimacing creatures nor repulsive monsters. There will be only human… The worst of demons.
Yanis Koussim

Production company
Mille et Une Productions (Paris)


Locarno Film Festival
Film project: Open Doors
https://pardo.ch/orig/pardo/program/film.html?fid=795501&eid=68

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Regista
Yanis Koussim

Produzione
Mille et une productions
f.ladjimi@1001productions.net

Based on
Original screenplay

Shooting format
4K

Shooting location
Algeria

Shooting start date
08/2016

Expected completion date
10/2017

Production status
Writing / Development

Budget
1.520.034 Euro

Financing in place
245.034 Euro

Locarno Film Festival
Film projects: Open Doors
https://pardo.ch/it/pardo/program/film?fid=795501&eid=68&