Thomas Vincent's Karnaval is set in Dunkirk during a six-week long carnival of parties and parades. It stars Amar Ben Abdallah, Clovis Cornillac and Sylvie Testud, who has already been heralded in Germany, picking up best actress honours at the 1997 German film awards for her performance in Caroline Link's Jenseits der stille (Beyond Silence).

The films centres on Larbi (Ben Abdallah) and his confrontation with one of life's important turning points. After a violent argument with his father, he makes plans to leave Dunkirk and head south to Marseilles where he can start life anew.

But on his last night in town he meets a young couple, Bea (Testud) and Christian (Cornillac), who are clearly revelling in the joy of the carnival. Bea catches Larbi's eye and he decides he might stick around a few more days to try his luck with her. The singular atmosphere of Karnaval leads to a transformation for Larbi, and three lives are changed forever. Nancy Tartaglione