Algeria has selected Yanis Koussim’s "Roqia" as its official submission for the International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.
The selection puts forward Koussim’s 89-minute feature debut, an Algeria-France-Qatar-Saudi Arabia co-production in Algerian Arabic.
"Roqia" moves between 1993 and the present day. One strand follows Ahmed, who returns to his village with amnesia after a car crash and struggles to recognize his family and understand the strange visitors who appear at night. The contemporary strand follows an aging raqi, or Islamic spiritual healer, whose declining health coincides with increasingly violent cases of possession.
"Roqia" premiered in 2025 at Settimana Internazionale della Critica, the independent Critics’ Week program held during the Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy. Its festival run has included awards in Algeria, Greece and the United Kingdom.
Algeria joins Morocco, Chad, Cameroon, Egypt and Kenya among African countries that have announced submissions for the 99th Academy Awards.
The ceremony is scheduled for 14 March 2027 in Los Angeles.