This story, set on the fringes of the Algerian war, could be an oriental tale. The “Nightingale of Kabylia” is the nickname given to old Ahieddine, a poet who lives in a mountain village. Ahieddine is visited by a young French officer. What does he want from him? Information, no doubt. The lieutenant, who has studied the Kabyle language, just wants to visit a famous poet, talk to him and hear him write a poem.
Such a visit would be difficult to justify to the men of the maquis. That same evening, Ahieddine was fetched and brought before a court of maquisards. He was sentenced to death for treason. Does he have a wish before he dies? Yes, to write one last poem, the poem of his death. He improvises a poem and the men listen, overcome with emotion at the words in their own language that express the poetry of their race. They pardoned old Ahieddine and set him free. Fate, however, was waiting for the “Nightingale of Kabylia” at the bend in a mountain path.