Viva Laldjérie depicts the lives of three marginalised women in contemporary Algeria, caught between increasingly western cosmopolitan modernity and the rising tide of religious fundamentalism. Lubna is having an affair with a married man who promises to leave his wife. She lives with her mother Papicha, a former cabaret dancer whose old club is being converted into a mosque. Downstairs from them is Lubna’s friend Fifi, a very popular prostitute. Director Nadir Moknèche has drawn many justified comparisons with Almodóvar for his warm and compassionate portrayal of women in increasingly difficult circumstances.

This screening will be introduced by award-winning Franco-Algerian author Salim Bachi, Director of the Alliance Française de Cork.