“When you try to forget the trauma without fixing it, it will never leave”: Yanis Koussim on Roqia at Red Sea International Film Festival 2025

Director Yanis Koussim brought his film Roqia to the Red Sea Film Festival. The project explores the trauma of Algeria’s “Black Decade”, where Ahmed, amnesic after a 1993 car crash, returns to a strange village and is haunted by unseen forces, while an ageing Muslim exorcist also faces a resurgence of evil.

In an interview with The Upcoming, Koussim discussed his personal obsession with unaddressed past trauma. He explained that, “When you try to forget the trauma without fixing it, it will never leave,” emphasising how this theme shaped the narrative’s use of amnesia and Alzheimer’s to portray the lasting impact of collective memory and unhealed societal wounds. He also spoke about the nature of evil and its recurrence, distinct from true religious faith.

Laura Della Corte

Roqia does not have a release date yet.