Madame Courage

Omar, an unstable and lonely teenager and dexterous thief, lives in a slum in the suburbs of the Algerian town of Mostaganem with his grumbling mother and elder sister Sabrina, who has been forced into prostitution. He leaves the house every day to rob people of their jewellery and any other possessions after taking a widespread psychotropic drug known among the youth in Algeria as “Madame Courage”, because of the boundless courage and euphoria it produces. One day, after robbing student Selma of her mother’s gold Hamsa pendant, Omar becomes besotted with her. He starts stalking her from a distance in the crowded streets of Mostaganem and sits below her balcony night after night. However, her treacherous older brother notices Omar and sees his efforts to attract her attention as a threat.