The Chadian national team is unique in soccer. For decades, it has suffered nothing but defeats, failures, and disappointments. Les SAO (The Giants) have never qualified for an international competition final, whether it be the Africa Cup of Nations or the World Cup. Ballon de sable is the story of two football fanatics, Rapide, a former footballer and current coach, and Ezai, a midfielder for the Chadian national team. The film brings to life their deep emotions, frustrations, and shattered dreams.

Since the 1950s, the management of Charbonnages de France has called on Félix Mora, a recruiter and former Indigenous Affairs officer in the French army in Morocco. For twenty years, Mora brought more than 70,000 people from southern Morocco to France to work in the mines of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Mora is there shows the stories of former Moroccan miners. It explores their little-known history and highlights poignant stories of the fight against discrimination, physical dangers and socio-economic precarity. It thus paints a complex picture of the resilience and courage of these miners in the face of the intense challenges they experienced