Karim Akalay’s “6TM” won the New Visions Award for the most promising European project at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival. Variety spoke to Akalay at the festival. Set during a scorching summer at Brussels’ largest housing estate, Cité Modèle, the story follows three intertwining narratives within one family.
Two kids chase a magic key to prevent their friend, who uses a wheelchair, from being forced out due to broken elevators. A teenage girl assembles a team of misfits to compete in a soccer tournament. A mother rallies her neighbors to uncover who stole the rain.
The team describes it as a “Belgian family comedy in three chapters, rooted in magic realism and the resilience of a community.” “Cité Modèle, one of the biggest and most symbolic housing estate in Brussels, [is] where I was born,” Akalay says. The ‘m’ stands for ‘modèle.’ So ‘6TM’ simply means Cité Modèle, but it’s more than just an abbreviation. It’s the language of the people who live there.
Writing it that way is how residents make the place their own. The film’s title comes from within the neighborhood, just like its stories.” Having multiple protagonists was an obvious choice. In the Cité, the lives of the kids, teenagers and parents are all connected.
By following three generations of one family, I could show how the entire community resists in their own way.” He adds: “It’s a film about collective strength rather than one hero.” Akalay always wanted to combine magic realism with a realistic setting. These are important films, but they often portray people like my neighbors only through hardship. I wanted to do the opposite, a kind of ‘anti-social realism,’” he says.
But the way the characters respond is joyful, funny and inventive. Magic – and a touch of manga – is how I show their imagination and strength.” Producers Walid Bekhti and Hanoulia Salamé agree: “For us, the realism is what makes the magic credible. The film is shot on location with non-professional actors and real stories from the neighborhood, so the fantasy never feels like an escape.
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