Still from Ali Cherri's The Sentinel, 2026 – France – 29 min – Fiction – Languages: French and Arabic. Cast: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart: Sergeant Lafleur; Eric Cantona: military doctor; Georges Torbey (Sbete): Loula. Director: Ali Cherri. Production: LAST DREAMS PRODUCTION, Rémi Bonhomme & Imane Farès. Co-production: Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains. Executive Production: MANEKI FILMS, Didar Domehri. With the support of Almine Rech, Mercedes Vilardell, Robert Matta (Fondation RAM), Fondation des Artistes, and Palais de Tokyo.
Ali Cherri's film selected for Cannes Critics' Week 2026
Almine Rech congratulates French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri on the selection of his film The Sentinel, 2026, at La Semaine de la Critique (Critics' Week), from May 13 to 21, 2026. Created in 1962 as a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival, the Critics' Week focuses on discovering new talents, revealing first and second feature films.
The Sentinel was part of ‘Last Watch Before Dawn,’ Cherri’s first solo exhibition at Almine Rech, New York. The film is the second chapter of the artist's Soldier trilogy, which started with The Watchman, and follows 24 hours in the life of a soldier on a military base in France during Bastille Day. The Sentinel takes the figure of the soldier out of the anonymity in order to give it depth of a real cinematic figure.
"July 14, on Bastille Day. Strained by the military cadence of the barracks, Sergeant Lafleur struggles with the silent burden of duty. A doctor grants him one night of freedom, under the condition that he shall return before dawn. Nocturnal wanderings begin in the heart of a world which gradually drifts away from reality. A night suspended between destiny and desertion."
