Of Gods and Men (film)

Of Gods and Men
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Xavier Beauvois
Written by	Étienne Comar Xavier Beauvois
Produced by	Pascal Caucheteux Étienne Comar Grégoire Sorlat
Starring	Lambert Wilson Michael Lonsdale
Cinematography	Caroline Champetier
Edited by	Marie-Julie Maille
Production companies	Why Not Productions Armada Films
Distributed by	Mars Distribution (France)
Release dates	18 May 2010 (2010-05-18) (Cannes) 8 September 2010 (2010-09-08) (France)
Running time	122 minutes
Country	France
Languages	French Arabic
Box office	$42.1 million[1]

Of Gods and Men (French: Des hommes et des dieux) is a 2010 French drama film directed by Xavier Beauvois, starring Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale. Its original French language title is Des hommes et des dieux, which means "Of Men and of Gods" and refers to a verse from the Bible shown at the beginning of the film. It centers on a true story that happened in the monastery of Tibhirine, where nine Cistercian monks lived in harmony with the largely Muslim population of Algeria, until seven of them were kidnapped and assassinated in 1996 during the Algerian Civil War.^[2]

Largely a tale of a peaceful situation between local Christians and Muslims before becoming a lethal one due to external forces, the screenplay focuses on the preceding chain of events in decay of government, expansion of terrorism, and the monks' confrontation with both the terrorists and the government authorities that led up to their deaths. Principal photography took place at an abandoned monastery in Azrou, Morocco.

The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix, the festival's second most prestigious award. It became a critical and commercial success in its domestic market, and won both the Lumières Award and César Award for Best Film.