My English Cousin
Fall Grants 2017
Karim Sayad / Feature Documentary / Algeria, Switzerland, France, Qatar / 2019 / 90 min / Original Language: Arabic, English / Interests: Social Issues, Immigration, Identity, Creative Documentary
Synopsis
2001, Fahed reaches the UK his head filled with dreams. 2018, in the thrall of a mid-life crisis, he must now make a decision. Will he keep his head low and continue working 50-hours weeks between the kebab shop and the factory, or will he return to Algeria, a country he fled in the hope of making a better life for himself?
Credits
- Director
- Karim Sayad
- Screenwriter
- Karim Sayad
- Producer
- Joëlle Bertossa
- Production Company
- Close Up Films
About the Director
Born in 1984 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Karim Sayad has both Swiss and Algerian citizenship. After earning a Master’s degree in International Relations from Geneva’s IHEID, he directed his first short documentary, ‘Babor Casanova’ (2015). The film received awards at Doclisboa, Festival dei Popoli, and Clermont-Ferrand. His first feature, ‘Of Sheep and Men’ (2017), won the 2018 Prix de Soleure at TIFF DOCS, where ‘My English Cousin’ also premiered.
Awards and Festival History
Festivals
"TIFF 2019, Docs (WP)
DOK Leipzig 2019
Festival Dei Popoli 2019
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2020
Rencontre d’Aflam 2020
Arab FF ALFILM 2020
Festivals Cinémas du Sud 2020
Full Frame Documentary FF 2020
Gabes FF 2020 (online edition)"
Soleure Prize, Journées de Soleure 2020