Mehdi’s Little Kitchen

saturday, 7 november, 3 pm

Amine Adjina, France | 2025 | 1h 44m | in French, with English Subtitles, Canadian Premiere
Nominated for Best Actor, Lumière Award, 2025

Mehdi’s life lies on a fragile balance. He plays the role of the perfect Algerian son for his mother Fatima, while hiding his relationship with Léa and his passion for French cuisine and wine, which he pursues as a chef at the bistro where he works. But Léa can no longer tolerate his family secrets and demands to meet Fatima. Cornered, Mehdi comes up with the worst possible solution…

Amine Adjina is a French writer, director, and actor working across theatre and film. A graduate of the École Régionale d’Acteurs de Cannes (ERAC), he co-founded Compagnie du Double with Émilie Prévosteau, where he has written and directed several plays, including Sur-prise, Dans la chaleur du foyer, and Arthur et Ibrahim, which received support from the Beaumarchais-SACD grant. His work often explores identity, cultural heritage, family dynamics, and personal aspirations. Adjina made his feature-film directorial debut with La petite cuisine de Mehdi, a Lyon-set story about a young man navigating the tension between family expectations and his passion for French cuisine.