page_title: Of Gods and Men (film)
section_title: Release
hierarchical_section_title: Of Gods and Men (film) / Release
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: L'équipe du film Des hommes et des dieux au festival de Cannes
context_page_description: Of Gods and Men 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 the monastery of Tibhirine, where nine Trappist 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.
  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.
context_section_description: The film premiered on 18 May 2010 in competition at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival. It was the second time a film directed by Beauvois was selected for the festival; he had previously won the 1995 Jury Prize for Don't Forget You're Going to Die. Of Gods and Men was released in France on 8 September through Mars Distribution. It was launched on 252 screens, which after two weeks had been increased to 424, and further during the third week to 442. Artificial Eye released it in the United Kingdom on 3 December 2010. Sony Pictures Classics acquired the distribution rights for the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
caption: The film's cast and crew on the red carpet for the world premiere in Cannes
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