Bilal is 17 years old, a Kurdish boy from Iraq. He sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe. He wants to get to England to see his love who lives there. Bilal finally reaches Calais, but how do you cover 32 kilometers of the English Channel when you can't swim? The boy soon discovers that his trip won't be as easy as he imagined... The community of struggling illegal aliens in Calais is captured with authenticity, from the point of view of people who arrived there knowing nothing about France. This immigrant drama, with wonderful performances by the actors, is a strong story which uses documentary austerity and minimalist style to create a great emotional impact.

Ilva runs her stepfather's Eden Palace cinema in wartime Paris against a background of Resistance activities, the frequent sight of less fortunate Parisians being shipped east in cattle-trains and, later, the impact of the D-Day landings. Over time a number of other lives intersect with hers, including a German officer and then two American servicemen. A post-war shooting comes to dominate her story along, perhaps surprisingly, with cinema itself.