Laurence Joseph

A policeman whose daughter has been murdered clashes with his mother over the identity of the killer. This violent disagreement, which reopens old wounds, will be the key to solving a murder much more complex than it appears. What if this tragedy paved the way for a potential reconciliation between a mother and a son that everything sets against each other?

Thomas, a blasé young man, spends his nights in clubs and his days in bed. Until his father, Dr. Reinhard, fed up with his son’s escapades, cuts him off completely and forces him to take care of one of his young patients. Mar- cus, 12, was born with a serious congenital disorder. He lives with his mother in the poor suburbs of Paris and spends his days either at the hospital or in a center for sick children. This encounter will disrupt their lives and change them both, profoundly and forever.

It all begins in the early 60s, in a slum just outside Paris inhabited by Algerian immigrants. Malika is 5, and her mum has just bought her a brand-new pair of sandals. They're so white that the little girl can't keep her eyes off them, and doesn't see the reversing truck. Then begin years of hospital, operations, suffering and struggle. Years far from her family, during which the little Muslim girl, in the hands of Catholic nurses and nuns, discovers music and singing at mass. From that point on, fighting the racism of French society as well as the enduring prejudices of her own community, Malika follows her dream and moves mountains to become the woman everyone will one day call "the diva of the ghetto".