Que Dieu te protège

Cléo Cohen’s directorial debut is an investigation of her identity as the granddaughter of Jewish Arabs who at some point in the past emigrated from Tunisia and Algeria to France. In an intimate setting, Cohen questions her grandparents in front of the camera about the course their lives have taken. Are they more attached to Judaism or to their Arab origin? What do they think of their current host country, France, the former colonial power? Do they feel African or European? And how do they expect their descendants to form their own identity? Their answers are sometimes crystal clear, sometimes more cryptic. In between interviews, Cohen looks to the work of Albert Memmi (1920-2020), a French-Tunisian writer of Jewish origin. The conversations with Cohen provoke introspection among members of both the older and younger generation. At the same time, this personal quest reflects the complexity of a history that brings together colonialism, anti-Semitism and racism, as well as religious, cultural and political issues. (Festival Cinema Jueu)