The Repentant

When Algeria introduces an amnesty law for jihadists, young fighter Rachid decides to lay down his weapons. He trades his hiding place in the mountains for a new life as a bartender in the city. But gradually, the secrets from his past catch up with him.

In the nineties Algeria was the backdrop of a civil war between the government and Islamic fundamentalists. In order to put an end to the violence, the  Algerian president decided to grant amnesty to the jihadists that were hiding in the mountains. In return, they would have to renounce their extremism and cooperate to achieve their reintegration into civil society. Rachid is a former fundamentalist, a so-called ‘repenti’, who trades his hiding place in the mountains for a new life in the city. As the secrets from his past catch up with him, his newborn identity slowly crumbles off and the story takes a radical turn.