Focus on Ali Cherri
Sat 28 NovBorn in Beirut, Ali Cherri is a filmmaker and sculptor based in Paris, whose multidisciplinary work has been exhibited in major museums and institutions around the world. In 2022, he was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Art Biennale. That same year, his debut feature film, The Dam, premiered at Cannes in the Directors’ Fortnight. He went on to direct the two short films featured in this programme: The Watchman, selected for the 2024 Rotterdam International Film Festival, and The Sentinel, presented at Cannes’ Semaine de la Critique in 2026.
Special Screening
Followed by a Q&A with director Ali Cherri
Programme
The Sentinel
- Director(s): Ali Cherri
- Cast: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Éric Cantona, Georges Torbey
- Original title: La Sentinelle
- Country, year: France | 2026
- Duration: 29 mins
- Language: French, Arabic with English subtitles
- Cert.: TBC
- More information: UK Premiere
July 14th, Bastille Day. In a barracks governed by the rhythm of military rituals, Sergeant Lafleur seems crushed by the silent weight of duty. A doctor grants him a night of freedom, on the condition that he returns before dawn. Thus begins a nocturnal wandering through a world that gradually slips away from reality—a night suspended between destiny and surrender.
The Watchman
- Director(s): Ali Cherri
- Cast: Halil Ersev Gökçek
- Original title: Le Guetteur / Nöbetçi
- Country, year: France/Italy | 2024
- Duration: 26 mins
- Language: In Turkish with English subtitles
- Cert.: TBC
In the remote village of Lourujina, situated within the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Sergeant Bulut, a young Turkish Cypriot soldier, finds himself stationed to guard the dividing line. As he dutifully stands watch over the quiet landscape amidst the routine and solitude, peculiar events unfold that challenge the very essence of his mission.
The Watchman looks at a life suspended in the limbo of waiting. While Sergeant Bulut grapples with the enigmatic occurrences around him, the film unfolds a narrative of duty entangled in illusion—a tale of disappointment by the anticipation of an elusive enemy that might never come.
- Picture: @lastdreamsproduction
