In Abdessemed’s work, repetition functions as the reminiscence of trauma, devoid of any therapeutic effect. He exposes the scar—whether personal or collective—without claiming the possibility of healing from it. In *Solitude*, Golshifteh Farahani lies in bed, sleeping, consumed by sadness and despair, until she begins to cry in her sleep, and the short film loops again. This subtly conveys the isolation of exile. The exile finds themselves in an impossible situation: unable to return to their homeland and not fully at ease in their host country. Exile becomes a form of solitude and individual suffering that is simultaneously intimate and social.

The exile faces an impossible deadlock, forced to endure pain without necessarily being able to share it with others.
Abdessemed never provides answers. His approach is too personal to offer solutions to the ailments of our era. He reflects, reinvents, and learns through the suffering of others, and perhaps we might do the same through him.