Ji.hlava New Visions Award Winner Karim Akalay Mixes Magic With ‘Anti-Social Realism’ in ‘6TM’: ‘It’s About Collective Strength Rather Than One Hero’

Karim Akalay’s “6TM” won the New Visions Award for the most promising European project at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival. Variety spoke to Akalay at the festival.

Set during a scorching summer at Brussels’ largest housing estate, Cité Modèle, the story follows three intertwining narratives within one family.

Two kids chase a magic key to prevent their friend, who uses a wheelchair, from being forced out due to broken elevators. A teenage girl assembles a team of misfits to compete in a soccer tournament. A mother rallies her neighbors to uncover who stole the rain.

The team describes it as a “Belgian family comedy in three chapters, rooted in magic realism and the resilience of a community.”

“Cité Modèle, one of the biggest and most symbolic housing estate in Brussels, [is] where I was born,” Akalay says. “Each of these characters faces a very real problem, and each finds a very magical solution.”

Its title is a French wordplay, he explains.

“6T, pronounced ‘six-T,’ sounds like ‘cité,’ which means housing estate. The ‘m’ stands for ‘modèle.’ So ‘6TM’ simply means Cité Modèle, but it’s more than just an abbreviation. It’s the language of the people who live there. Writing it that way is how residents make the place their own. The film’s title comes from within the neighborhood, just like its stories.”

Having multiple protagonists was an obvious choice.

“A housing estate is never just one person’s story. In the Cité, the lives of the kids, teenagers and parents are all connected. By following three generations of one family, I could show how the entire community resists in their own way.”

He adds: “It’s a film about collective strength rather than one hero.”

Akalay always wanted to combine magic realism with a realistic setting.

“Belgium has a strong tradition of social realism, with the Dardenne brothers as its best-known example. These are important films, but they often portray people like my neighbors only through hardship. I wanted to do the opposite, a kind of ‘anti-social realism,’” he says.

“The problems in ‘6TM’ are real: broken elevators, heat, people being pushed out. But the way the characters respond is joyful, funny and inventive. Magic – and a touch of manga – is how I show their imagination and strength.”

Producers Walid Bekhti and Hanoulia Salamé agree: “For us, the realism is what makes the magic credible. The film is shot on location with non-professional actors and real stories from the neighborhood, so the fantasy never feels like an escape. It feels like something the community creates itself,” they said in a joint statement.

It’s also a family film in the full sense of the word.

“Children and teenagers can enjoy the adventure, and adults will recognize the social reality behind it. We also think it speaks to audiences who rarely see neighborhoods like the Cité Modèle on screen, except in dramas,” they add.

“We want them to laugh and to feel proud. Broadcasters are essential in reaching that audience, and the work of RTBF, Proximus and BeTV in supporting new talents matters a lot.”

Akalay also considers young people when envisioning his target audience.

“In Belgium and in France, Gen Z is angry, and they show it. But they don’t only protest: they create too,” he says.

“They make videos, music and images, and they transform their anger into something inventive and often very funny. That’s exactly the energy of the characters in ‘6TM.’ I want this generation to recognize itself in the film.”

“6TM” is currently in development, with filming planned for July 2027. It is produced by Walid Bekhti and Hanoulia Salamé for Centre Vidéo de Bruxelles (Belgium) with support from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Groupe Ouest and the New Dawn Fund.