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Christophe Ruggia made his directorial debut with this French film, an adaptation of the novel by Azouz Begag about a shantytown boyhood during the mid-'60s. In an effort to escape war and poverty, immigrant families moved outside Lyons to the shacks of Chaaba. Ruggia's main focus is on nine-year-old Omar (Bouzid Negnoug), son of an illiterate construction worker, as the film follows his routines with friends, family, and school. With Arabic and French dialogue, this film was shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival.