Roqia

Yanis Koussim’s first feature Roqia is an eerie supernatural horror that confronts the spectres of Algeria’s ‘Black Decade’ (1992–2002), when extremist violence engulfed the country and left traumas still felt today. In 1993, Ahmed, left with amnesia after a car crash, dreads regaining his memory as mysterious visitors torment him at night. In the present day, a disciple of an elderly Raqi (a Muslim exorcist) is worried that his master’s struggles with Alzheimer’s may unleash an ancient evil as violence escalates in the city. Contains scenes with strong graphic violence.