Up bright and early with their pet in tow, Zohra Bouderbala and her five children are heading to the beach. This is not a drill! In Algiers, the coveted front row spot waits for no one, but it’s not this family’s first time having to beat the summer seaside crowds. The unmotivated and out-of-luck masses who arrive too late will be left to a viewless laze in the sun, the alleged horizon blocked by a fortress of parasols and flowing canopies.

Residents of La Rouguière talk about their life in this unique district of Marseille which welcomed returnees from Algeria in 1962. As they testify, they summon the memories of a memory haunted by history and by the loss of loved ones.