Les Barons

Molenbeek, in Brussels. Hassan and his friends call themselves the Barons. They have a rule: move as little as possible, because every person is issued a set number of steps at birth and every step takes you closer to death. Not working is therefore a philosophy. Hassan wants to be a comedian and cannot say so to his family or to his friends. His father has arranged a job for him driving a bus. There is also Malika, his friend's sister. One day Hassan has to get on stage. Nabil Ben Yadir directs the Belgian film; a hundred and eleven minutes, with Nader Boussandel as Hassan and Mourade Zeguendi and Fellag in the cast. It is Ben Yadir's first film, one of the few that tell Belgium's Moroccan immigrant neighbourhoods from inside, and it did unexpected business there.