Of Gods and Men - Des hommes et des dieux

2010 · Xavier Beauvois

Synopsis Eight monks come face-to-face with death. A sumptuous French film about a group of monks well integrated in a Muslim world who must confront their faith as mortal danger approaches. Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes 2010 Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux) is a 2010 French drama film directed by Xavier Beauvois. It centers around an actual event in 1996, when seven French Trappist monks were kidnapped and beheaded in Algeria. The Armed Islamic Group of Algeria claimed full responsibility for the incident, but according to documents from French secret services it is possible that the killing was a mistake carried out by the Algerian army during a rescue attempt. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996. The film won the Grand Prix at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Cast: Fabio Testi, Lino Capolicchio, Helmut Berger, Romolo Valli, Dominique Sanda, Camillo Cesarei, Inna Alexeievna, Katina Morisani, Barbara Pilavin Cannes (In Competition): Grand Prix, Karlovy Vary (Open Eyes), New York, Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema), London (Galas & Special Screenings), Telluride, São Paulo (International Perspective), Stockholm (Spotlight), Vancouver