“Aladin”, a Moroccan street boy and shoe cleaner, meets a foreign author who helps him to climb the social ladder and discover his artistic vein. After an odyssey through back yards and juvenile detention facilities he begins to paint, and eventually his long-held wish is fulfilled and he is able to emigrate to Europe, where he finds a new home and a “princess” to marry.
This typical story, told in semi-documentary style, is one that re-occurs countless times in North African countries: Morocco has over 30 million inhabitants – over half of which are under 20 years of age. Many of them just want to get away, and long for a better life in the “Western paradise”!