Ahmed Zitouni

1516, Legend has it that the king of Algiers had a wife named Zaphira. When the pirate Aroudj Barbarossa arrives to liberate the city from the Spaniards, he is determined to conquer Zaphira as well as the kingdom itself. But is Zaphira willing to let him, or is she plotting for herself?

Longtime friends, Mehdi and Hamid, work for a collection agency. They crisscross the villages of southern Morocco in their old car and share double rooms in shabby hotels. They are exactly the same size, and wear the same suits and ties, as well as the same shoes. Paid nearly nothing, they try to play hard to make good figures. One day, in a gas station planted in the middle of the desert, a motorcycle parks in front of them. A man is handcuffed to the luggage rack, threatening. It’s the Evader. Their meeting marks the beginning of an unforeseen and mystical journey.

Chronicles from the Siege portrays the transformation of residents of a war zone as they face the harsh realities of survival. Through five stories, the film presents moments of humanity, dark humor, and difficult choices. In search of food, Arafat encounters a stranger who offers him a piece of bread, prompting reflection on hunger and despair. Young survivors discover VHS tapes in an abandoned store and are torn between burning them for warmth or preserving the past. Walid's addiction to smoking illustrates the absurd inflation of values under siege. Fares risks his safety to spend a moment of intimacy with his girlfriend amid bombings, while Saleh, a war profiteer, desperately searches for blood to save his wife, who is about to give birth. These chronicles explore the challenging decisions people must make under extreme conditions.