Projects in development
THE SOURCE
Synopsis
After several years in France devoted to physics research into various materials, an ambitious Mehdi returns to Algeria with the “revolutionary project” he believes could bring him recognition and fortune. His goal is to discover a material that does not dissipate the energy that passes through it, and he has developed an apparatus to detect the elusive substance. He teams up with Mohamed, his childhood friend and the only person he can trust in this country where he has lost his bearings. Mohamed, who has never left Algeria, lives off the hard-earned cash he makes at the gas station. He agrees to assist his friend to escape the monotony of his life. Like 21st-century gold-seekers, the Kabyle friends embark on a quest for the subsoil of a land on the edge of the desert: Djebel Aïssa.
L’Oeil Vif Productions (France)
Mouloud Ouyahia, Jules David
Partner attached
Institut français d’Algérie
Director’s statement
The Source is a north-south crossing, from a desert of water to a desert of salt; a crossing that revolves around the antagonism between language and reality. More precisely, its premise is that progress is the result of the alteration of nature by technology; of matter by science. This raises the question of the ethical limits of progress.
I address this question via the characters who lead this wandering quest. Mehdi, a foreigner in his own country, arrives with a promise, knowledge, and capital. He sincerely believes the progress he brings with him is inevitable. The end justifies the means. In contrast, Mohamed, the urban ascetic who puts his friend's research into action with his practical sense, is prepared to go to unspeakable lengths to hold on to territory. Life and actions are but a series of contingencies.
Biographies
Mouloud Ouyahia was raised in Algeria and moved to France before he was 18. There, he studied cinema and philosophy before taking work in documentary development. He directed and co-produced his first short film, The House Is on Fire, Might as Well Get Warm (2023), which he directed and co-produced, had its premiere in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. and won the Special Jury Prize at IndieLisboa. Ouyahia is a producer and co-founder of L'Oeil Vif Productions.
Having obtained a degree in film management and production, Jules David gained experience at Films Pelléas and in distribution at Warner Bros. before joining Ladybirds Films in 2018 as a producer and associate. There, he produced nearly 30 films, primarily documentaries. In 2022, buoyed by a new impetus, he co-founded L'Oeil Vif Productions with two associates, and co-produced Mouloud Ouyahia's medium-length film The House Is on Fire, Might as Well Get Warm (2023), which was presented in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
