Sydenham Film Club presents OF GODS & MEN

Based on a true story, this award-winning film is a quiet and compelling meditation on faith, politics and the legacy of colonialism that raises many issues relevant today.

When Islamic fundamentalist terrorists arrive in a small town in Northern Algeria, a group of French trappist monks stationed there face the destruction of the world as they know it. As the situation worsens they are forced to make a decision: stay and risk death, or leave and desert the community with which they have lived in harmony for decades.

Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Xavier Beauvois’ surprise hit features one of the most affecting scenes in recent cinema. It is packed full of powerful performances from a cast led by Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale, who was given the César Award for his role as world-wise monk Luc.