A brand new Algerian co-production fresh from the 2026 Rotterdam International Film Festival screens at the Free State Festival in celebration of the Algerian soccer team’s home base in Lawrence, Kansas this summer. This free screening is made possible by support from the Lawrence Public Library.

ABOUT THE FILM
An old man from Oran claims to be the brother of “the Arab” killed in Camus’s The Stranger. A leading figure of Algerian theatre and cinema since the 1970s, actor Ahmed Benaïssa brings a rare intensity, both intimate and political, where personal memory, collective history, and rebellion against the erasure of Arab voices intertwine. This testamentary role, performed shortly before his death in 2022, gathers the full power of his artistic journey: a commanding presence, remarkable precision in acting, and a unique ability to make us hear — behind every silence — an entire country and an entire life.

Freely adapted from the novel The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud.