Istiqlal

Leïla does not speak Arabic, her mother’s language. Her mother refuses to teach her, so Leïla begins to wonder, wanting to uncover her history, which is shrouded in her mother’s silences. Istiqlal tells the story of Leïla’s quest to understand her roots as she meets Julien, a young war correspondent.

Women from past generations loom large in the lovers’ daily lives; the past shapes the present; Leïla is unable to have children, and her story erupts within her body...