Feature Narrative
TOTAL BUDGET
US $3,471,197
CONFIRMED FINANCING
Not Provided
CONTACT
aurelturc@gmail.com
+33624903315
Goussam is pregnant. She has to have an illegal abortion, however her plans are interrupted when Trump, her friend Riad's dachshund, dies all of a sudden.
This is the story of three friends, three good-for-nothings, and a dead sausage dog named Trump. Goussam is pregnant and must rely on her two friends to get an abortion in a country, Algeria, where voluntary termination of a pregnancy is strictly prohibited, except for therapeutic reasons.
Riad, an Algerian-Russian citizen who still cherishes the memories of the socialist era pre-1988, is some sort of an ontological, Bukowskian anti-hero of contemporary Algeria. He is also the owner of a dachshund. When the dog dies unexpectedly, its corpse is moved from one refrigerator to another, waiting to be stuffed and buried. Goussam is also closely acquainted with the extravagant Cherifa Griffa, a woman in her late forties who looks like a fallen marquise. Cherifa Griffa works occasionally as a revue singer in a vintage cabaret run by a bored colonel who has a thing for show business and nightlife.
As she visits every gynecologist in Algiers and its surroundings, desperately looking for an understanding and, more importantly, not too expensive doctor, Goussam finds herself caught in extraordinary and hazardous situations.
Beyond the fact that satire can be used to point out the flaws of a society or a political system, it allows me as an Algerian author to distance myself from the seriousness of the subject. I needed lightness, especially after my experience with The Blessed, my first feature film.
I also wanted to give my next film a funnier, even ubiquitous tone through the adventures of my characters, while still dealing with the political and social issues that are specific to my country and are so important to me. My intention is to help audiences, who only know my country through dramatic films, to discover an aspect of Algeria which they are not so familiar with. An aspect that deserves to be portrayed, derisively perhaps, but also affectionately whenever it is still possible to do so. I mention the Hirak in my script, but its place is necessarily remote, because our characters are disconnected from the upheavals taking place around them. They want to believe in it, but the many past failures have turned them into "ultra-normalized" subjects, on the verge of nihilism.
They are at the margin of society and its demands, whether religious, ideological, political, or economic. They seem incapable of prioritizing values and appearing amoral and skeptical. My desire to add a vintage touch to the film will be expressed in different ways: through music, for instance, the Red Army Choir, through patriotic Algerian songs and traditional raï (guellal, bendir), all mixed with electro sounds.
Satire, as a cinematic genre, requires boldness, talent, creativity, and a convergence of financial and technical support from partners driven by the desire to accompany directors with strong messages.
Thus, it’s natural to turn to El Gouna Film Festival, which supported the first films of directors and pioneers involved in the exercise of their art. For her next film, Sofia turned to us, young producers whose experience in producing Chafik Laribia's direction on shoots of Abdellatif Kechiche and Hafsia Herzi, and our policy of accompanying the creationoriented directors, constitute our DNA and the capital on which we assert today our will and affirm today our legitimacy to orchestrate projects as original and essential as A Quarter to Thursday in Algiers. We will take the necessary time to put together the required financing for this film, and to give Sofia the greatest freedom. Your support would be essential to us, and we would be happy to carry the values and editorial qualities that you have always defended and supported through this film.
Aurélie Turk - K-Rec Films
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