Keswick Film Festival

Synopsis

Winner of the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this extraordinarily moving but non-sensationalist drama recounts the true story of a group of eight French Cistercian monks who were caught up in a bloody conflict between the Algerian Army and Muslim Jihadi insurgents. The country is increasingly in the grip of fundamentalist violence, and the brothers must soon decide whether to stay and carry out their duty to their Muslim neighbours, or leave. Aptly striving for simplicity and making a compassionate plea for understanding between cultures, the film muses on the meaning of religious vocation in a violent world.