I'm Not Dead - Mehdi Ben Attia - France

Airing times Interview with Maria de Medeiros I'm Not Dead (Je ne suis pas mort, 2012) France Director: Mehdi Ben Attia Cast: Mehdi Dehbi, Maria de Medeiros, Emmanuel Salinger Presentation: Directed by Mehdi Ben Attia, I'm Not Dead tells the story of Yacine, an Algerian student who admires and develops a friendship with his philosophy professor, Richard. The film takes one wild and perplexing turn after another when Richard abruptly dies of a brain aneurysm, and then his soul is somehow transported into Yacine’s body. According to the director, "the story constantly involves two degrees of understanding. It can be told both as an adventure and as a metaphor, as a fantasy film and as a political one, as a movie about metamorphosis or as a movie about madness, as the story of a young man who hates his own identity and also as the story of a man thrown into a new youth." With a talented cast that includes the famous Maria de Medeiros (Pulp Fiction, My Life Without Me), I'm Not Dead plays with a body-switch, often seen in Hollywood comedies, but this art house production delivers instead a reflection on immigration and social divisions in Paris. Enjoy a suspenseful, occasionally hilarious drama worthy of reflection and discussion with friends and family for a considerable time afterwards. Synopsis: Yacine (Mehdi Dehbi) is a brilliant student in Paris. He comes from a modest background. Richard (Emmanuel Salinger), the teacher he admires the most, offers to help him get a training course at the prime minister’s office. One night, Yacine wakes up in panic; he runs to Richard’s apartment but Richard is dead. Yacine tells the family in shock: "Don’t worry, nobody’s dead. I am Richard." Airing times