Industry speakers at festival include ‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ director Jasmila Zbanic, former Marvel exec Karim Zreik.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has selected 26 feature film projects for its Red Sea Souk Project Market; plus a Work-in-Progress showcase, and speakers for its 360° industry events programme.
The 26 Souk projects hail from Africa and the Arab region. Titles include Djeliya, Memory Of Manding, a documentary from Burkinabe filmmaker Boubacar Sangare, whose third film A Golden Life played at the Berlinale earlier this year.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
Also included is Scandar Copti’s animated documentary A Childhood,...
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has selected 26 feature film projects for its Red Sea Souk Project Market; plus a Work-in-Progress showcase, and speakers for its 360° industry events programme.
The 26 Souk projects hail from Africa and the Arab region. Titles include Djeliya, Memory Of Manding, a documentary from Burkinabe filmmaker Boubacar Sangare, whose third film A Golden Life played at the Berlinale earlier this year.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
Also included is Scandar Copti’s animated documentary A Childhood,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has revealed details of the Red Sea Souk, the fest’s industry market that will offer meeting and networking opportunities revolving around new Arab and African product.
The Souk will take place Dec. 2-5 alongside the Nov. 30-Dec. 9 fest in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore. The fest’s industry side will also comprise the Red Sea Talent Days on Dec. 6-7, which will give regional talents and young filmmakers a chance to connect with industry experts.
The Red Sea Souk Project Market will showcase 26 feature-length projects from across the Arab and African region. Of these, 12 are Red Sea Lodge projects that were developed in-house during the year through workshops and labs in partnership with Italy’s Torino Film Lab.
Four of these projects will be awarded the annual Red Sea Lodge production prizes of $50,000 each.
All 26 selected projects in the...
The Souk will take place Dec. 2-5 alongside the Nov. 30-Dec. 9 fest in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore. The fest’s industry side will also comprise the Red Sea Talent Days on Dec. 6-7, which will give regional talents and young filmmakers a chance to connect with industry experts.
The Red Sea Souk Project Market will showcase 26 feature-length projects from across the Arab and African region. Of these, 12 are Red Sea Lodge projects that were developed in-house during the year through workshops and labs in partnership with Italy’s Torino Film Lab.
Four of these projects will be awarded the annual Red Sea Lodge production prizes of $50,000 each.
All 26 selected projects in the...
- 11/7/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has revealed the 26 projects selected as part of this year’s Red Sea Souk Market, which will run Dec. 2-5.
“The Red Sea Souk Project Market will present 26 feature-length projects from across the Arab and African region, offering a first opportunity for the industry audience to connect and build future opportunities with these projects,” organizers said on Tuesday.
Part of the selection are 12 “Red Sea Lodge” projects which were developed during the year through workshops and in partnership with the Torino Film Lab. Four of them will be awarded the annual Red Sea Lodge production prizes of $50,000 each.
All 26 projects in the market will compete for cash prizes offered by the Red Sea Fund, to be awarded by an international jury of producers. They are worth $35,000 for development, $25,000 for the jury special mention award and $100,000 for production.
Meanwhile, the...
“The Red Sea Souk Project Market will present 26 feature-length projects from across the Arab and African region, offering a first opportunity for the industry audience to connect and build future opportunities with these projects,” organizers said on Tuesday.
Part of the selection are 12 “Red Sea Lodge” projects which were developed during the year through workshops and in partnership with the Torino Film Lab. Four of them will be awarded the annual Red Sea Lodge production prizes of $50,000 each.
All 26 projects in the market will compete for cash prizes offered by the Red Sea Fund, to be awarded by an international jury of producers. They are worth $35,000 for development, $25,000 for the jury special mention award and $100,000 for production.
Meanwhile, the...
- 11/7/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Red Sea International Film Festival, has unveiled the 26 projects selected as part of its industry-focused Red Sea Souk Market, running from December 2 to 5.
Projects in development include Palestinian director Scandar Copti’s A Childhood, Lebanese-French filmmaker Danielle Arbid’s Love Conquers All and Madness And Honey Days by Iraq’s Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji.
Within the Market selection are twelve Red Sea Lodge projects which were developed during the year through intensive workshops and in partnership with the Torino Film Lab. Four of these projects will be awarded the annual Red Sea Lodge production prizes of $50,000 each.
All 26 selected projects will compete for cash prizes offered by the Red Sea Fund, to be awarded by an international jury of producers: $35,000 for development, $25,000 for the Jury Special Mention Award and $100,000 for production
Another six projects will be showcased in Works-In-Progress section including Men In The Sun by Palestinian director Mahdi Fleifel,...
Projects in development include Palestinian director Scandar Copti’s A Childhood, Lebanese-French filmmaker Danielle Arbid’s Love Conquers All and Madness And Honey Days by Iraq’s Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji.
Within the Market selection are twelve Red Sea Lodge projects which were developed during the year through intensive workshops and in partnership with the Torino Film Lab. Four of these projects will be awarded the annual Red Sea Lodge production prizes of $50,000 each.
All 26 selected projects will compete for cash prizes offered by the Red Sea Fund, to be awarded by an international jury of producers: $35,000 for development, $25,000 for the Jury Special Mention Award and $100,000 for production
Another six projects will be showcased in Works-In-Progress section including Men In The Sun by Palestinian director Mahdi Fleifel,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The film won the special jury award at this year’s SXSW film festival.
Another Body, a documentary about a student’s search for justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself online, has secured UK-Ireland and Canada theatrical release deals.
Modern Films and Willa will release the film in the UK and Ireland this autumn, day and date with a digital release; with levelFilm handling the Canadian release.
Another Body had its world premiere at SXSW in the US in March, where it won a special jury prize. Subsequent festival play has included Canada’s Hot Docs and Germany...
Another Body, a documentary about a student’s search for justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself online, has secured UK-Ireland and Canada theatrical release deals.
Modern Films and Willa will release the film in the UK and Ireland this autumn, day and date with a digital release; with levelFilm handling the Canadian release.
Another Body had its world premiere at SXSW in the US in March, where it won a special jury prize. Subsequent festival play has included Canada’s Hot Docs and Germany...
- 9/21/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Utopia has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Another Body,” the SXSW Special Jury Award-winning documentary exploring the growing threat of online deepfake pornography.
“Another Body,” which is presented by the Oscar-winning Impact Partners, tells the story of a college student’s search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online. The film marks the feature debut of Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn, who also produced alongside Elizabeth Woodward at U.S.-based banner Willa. The doc will also be released by Willa via its newly launched distribution division focusing on impact content.
Utopia and Willa are planning a theatrical run this fall in New York, Los Angeles and across key markets in the U.S., with a day-and-date roll out on digital streaming platforms. The release will include events with special guests and Q&As, and a network of audience engagement partners. Woodward previously...
“Another Body,” which is presented by the Oscar-winning Impact Partners, tells the story of a college student’s search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online. The film marks the feature debut of Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn, who also produced alongside Elizabeth Woodward at U.S.-based banner Willa. The doc will also be released by Willa via its newly launched distribution division focusing on impact content.
Utopia and Willa are planning a theatrical run this fall in New York, Los Angeles and across key markets in the U.S., with a day-and-date roll out on digital streaming platforms. The release will include events with special guests and Q&As, and a network of audience engagement partners. Woodward previously...
- 8/18/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Cannes Screenplay List, an initiative backed by the talent platform Wscripted in partnership with Mubi, will be back for a third edition at the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film.
An international jury comprising filmmakers Mounia Meddour, Funa Maduka (“Waiting for Hassana”), and Camille Griffin (“The Silent Night”) will sift through submitted feature scripts from women and non-binary writers.
The final List of top scripts will be presented to producers during during the Cannes Marché du Film, in collaboration with Mubi.
Meddour made her feature debut “Papicha” in 2019 which played to acclaim at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and went on to win two Cesar Awards for best first film and female newcomer Lyna Khoudri. Her sophomore outing, “Houria”, is a tale of sorority about a dancer’s dream to join the Algerian National Ballet. The lushly lensed film, which reteams Meddour with Khoudri, debuted in French theatres on...
An international jury comprising filmmakers Mounia Meddour, Funa Maduka (“Waiting for Hassana”), and Camille Griffin (“The Silent Night”) will sift through submitted feature scripts from women and non-binary writers.
The final List of top scripts will be presented to producers during during the Cannes Marché du Film, in collaboration with Mubi.
Meddour made her feature debut “Papicha” in 2019 which played to acclaim at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and went on to win two Cesar Awards for best first film and female newcomer Lyna Khoudri. Her sophomore outing, “Houria”, is a tale of sorority about a dancer’s dream to join the Algerian National Ballet. The lushly lensed film, which reteams Meddour with Khoudri, debuted in French theatres on...
- 3/28/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
‘Riceboy Sleeps’ Scoops Top Canadian Film Award
Anthony Shim’s Riceboy Sleeps has won Canada’s biggest film award, the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. The prize, decided by the Toronto Film Critics Association (Tfca), comes with a Can$100,000 cash prize. Riceboy Sleeps beat nominees Clement Virgo’s Brother and David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. The semi-autobiographical film explores the challenges of living between two cultures through the tale of a Korean immigrant single mother raising her son in Canada. Shot in the Greater Vancouver area and Korea, the feature world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022, winning its Platform Prize, and then played in Busan and a raft of other festivals. The win comes as Toronto-based distributor Game Theory Films gears up for the title’s Canadian release on March 17. The feature will also be released in Korea, Singapore and the US in the coming months.
Anthony Shim’s Riceboy Sleeps has won Canada’s biggest film award, the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. The prize, decided by the Toronto Film Critics Association (Tfca), comes with a Can$100,000 cash prize. Riceboy Sleeps beat nominees Clement Virgo’s Brother and David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. The semi-autobiographical film explores the challenges of living between two cultures through the tale of a Korean immigrant single mother raising her son in Canada. Shot in the Greater Vancouver area and Korea, the feature world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022, winning its Platform Prize, and then played in Busan and a raft of other festivals. The win comes as Toronto-based distributor Game Theory Films gears up for the title’s Canadian release on March 17. The feature will also be released in Korea, Singapore and the US in the coming months.
- 3/8/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Hello and welcome back to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast, I am your host Valerie Complex. On today’s episode we’re chatting with director-producer Dina Amer.
Amer is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist. She helped produce the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning documentary The Square, in which the Egyptian Revolution was chronicled from the front lines. Growing up between the U.S. and Egypt, her work has focused on sharing nuanced, human stories with a global audience.
From documentary, she’s moved over to features and has debuted her first film, You Resemble Me, which tells the true story of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a woman falsely accused of being Europe’s first female suicide bomber.
At the time, police had confirmed the 26-year-old Boulahcen was the woman who died when she blew herself up during a police raid on an apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis in the aftermath of the 2015 terror attacks in the city.
Amer is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist. She helped produce the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning documentary The Square, in which the Egyptian Revolution was chronicled from the front lines. Growing up between the U.S. and Egypt, her work has focused on sharing nuanced, human stories with a global audience.
From documentary, she’s moved over to features and has debuted her first film, You Resemble Me, which tells the true story of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a woman falsely accused of being Europe’s first female suicide bomber.
At the time, police had confirmed the 26-year-old Boulahcen was the woman who died when she blew herself up during a police raid on an apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis in the aftermath of the 2015 terror attacks in the city.
- 2/9/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Hasna Aït Boulahcen hit the headlines when she died in the early morning of 18 November, 2015. It was reported that she was a suicide bomber, but forensics experts subsequently concluded that this was not the case; a man in the same room had blown himself up, and she had suffocated under the rubble. Detectives believe that she aided and abetted the men responsible for the terrorist attack on the Bataclan - but who was she, and how did she get into that situation?
In making this film, which is based on known events in Hasna’s life and informed by more than 300 hours of interviews with members of her family, director Dina Amer has stressed that she was not seeking to justify her choices, just to understand. There is no suggestion that Hasna was not responsible for what she did, nor that she couldn’t understand it, but the picture...
In making this film, which is based on known events in Hasna’s life and informed by more than 300 hours of interviews with members of her family, director Dina Amer has stressed that she was not seeking to justify her choices, just to understand. There is no suggestion that Hasna was not responsible for what she did, nor that she couldn’t understand it, but the picture...
- 2/2/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Expertly blending fiction, news footage and interviews, this potent debut pieces together the events leading to Hasna Aït Boulahcen’s killing by French police
Dina Amer is a former Vice News journalist making a fierce feature debut with this vehement, focused and often disturbing movie, plausibly and sympathetically creating a backstory for a real-life case and finally aligning the fictionalised mise en scène, news footage and interviews with expert assurance and care.
You Resemble Me is an imagined response to the case of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, a young French woman of Moroccan descent who had been radicalised by Islamic State and was killed in 2015 during the raid on a Paris apartment building after the terrorist attacks on various targets, including the Bataclan theatre. The siege culminated in a shootout and an explosion; afterwards excitable media reporters claimed Aït Boulahcen was Europe’s “first female suicide bomber”, with much prurient commentary...
Dina Amer is a former Vice News journalist making a fierce feature debut with this vehement, focused and often disturbing movie, plausibly and sympathetically creating a backstory for a real-life case and finally aligning the fictionalised mise en scène, news footage and interviews with expert assurance and care.
You Resemble Me is an imagined response to the case of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, a young French woman of Moroccan descent who had been radicalised by Islamic State and was killed in 2015 during the raid on a Paris apartment building after the terrorist attacks on various targets, including the Bataclan theatre. The siege culminated in a shootout and an explosion; afterwards excitable media reporters claimed Aït Boulahcen was Europe’s “first female suicide bomber”, with much prurient commentary...
- 2/1/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
It was a closely fought weekend at the U.K. and Ireland box office between “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Pathaan,” with the former edging the top slot.
Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” topped the charts for the seventh weekend in a row with £2.1 million (2.6 million) for a total of £70.6 million, per numbers from Comscore.
Yash Raj Films’ Bollywood film “Pathaan” debuted close behind in second place with £1.9 million. Directed by Siddharth Anand and starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, the film released midweek on Jan. 25 across 223 locations. The film collected £1.4 million for the weekend (Friday-Sunday) and £1.9 million in total including Wednesday and Thursday.
On Jan. 25, “Pathaan” had the highest opening day ever for an Indian title in the U.K. with £319,000. No film had ever crossed the £300,000 mark on a single day prior to this. This was also the highest single day collection...
Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” topped the charts for the seventh weekend in a row with £2.1 million (2.6 million) for a total of £70.6 million, per numbers from Comscore.
Yash Raj Films’ Bollywood film “Pathaan” debuted close behind in second place with £1.9 million. Directed by Siddharth Anand and starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, the film released midweek on Jan. 25 across 223 locations. The film collected £1.4 million for the weekend (Friday-Sunday) and £1.9 million in total including Wednesday and Thursday.
On Jan. 25, “Pathaan” had the highest opening day ever for an Indian title in the U.K. with £319,000. No film had ever crossed the £300,000 mark on a single day prior to this. This was also the highest single day collection...
- 1/31/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
After repeating ‘fake news’ about Hasna Aït Boulahcen’s role in the Paris attacks, Dina Amer switched from journalism to directing – to uncover deeper truths about this tragic misfit
‘I believe stories choose people,” says Dina Amer, explaining why she spent six difficult years making a film about the woman dubbed “Europe’s first female suicide bomber”. She adds: “I never would have chosen this story in a million years.”
It later transpired that the woman, Hasna Aït Boulahcen, did not, in fact, blow herself up. She was in an apartment raided by French police in November 2015, shortly after the Islamist terror attacks on the Bataclan nightclub, the Stade de France and other Paris locations that killed 137 people. Also in the apartment was Boulahcen’s cousin, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who had masterminded the attacks and persuaded Boulahcen to join Islamic State. With the apartment surrounded, another of the terrorists is thought to have detonated the explosives.
‘I believe stories choose people,” says Dina Amer, explaining why she spent six difficult years making a film about the woman dubbed “Europe’s first female suicide bomber”. She adds: “I never would have chosen this story in a million years.”
It later transpired that the woman, Hasna Aït Boulahcen, did not, in fact, blow herself up. She was in an apartment raided by French police in November 2015, shortly after the Islamist terror attacks on the Bataclan nightclub, the Stade de France and other Paris locations that killed 137 people. Also in the apartment was Boulahcen’s cousin, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who had masterminded the attacks and persuaded Boulahcen to join Islamic State. With the apartment surrounded, another of the terrorists is thought to have detonated the explosives.
- 1/25/2023
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Modern Films, a leading London-based film banner which notably distributed “Drive My Car,” will release Dina Amer’s emotional and thought-provoking character study “You Resemble Me” in the U.K. and Ireland.
The movie, which world premiered at Venice last year, tells the journey of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, a fragile, young Muslim woman who became linked to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris and was wrongly believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber.
Exploring the roots of radicalization through a layered coming-of-age story, the movie marks the feature debut of Amer, an Egyptian-American filmmaker and award-winning journalist. The movie is executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Riz Ahmed and Alma Har’el.
“I’m thrilled to be working on this film with such a dedicated and talented team to bring it to audiences in the U.K. and Ireland, tying together the story of the fragility of youth,...
The movie, which world premiered at Venice last year, tells the journey of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, a fragile, young Muslim woman who became linked to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris and was wrongly believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber.
Exploring the roots of radicalization through a layered coming-of-age story, the movie marks the feature debut of Amer, an Egyptian-American filmmaker and award-winning journalist. The movie is executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Riz Ahmed and Alma Har’el.
“I’m thrilled to be working on this film with such a dedicated and talented team to bring it to audiences in the U.K. and Ireland, tying together the story of the fragility of youth,...
- 12/7/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Fabelmans grossed an estimated 160k this weekend at four theaters in NY and LA. That’s a 40K per screen average, on par with recent strong (for post-Covid) specialty openings like The Banshees Of Inisherin (at 45k PSA) and Tár (also 40k), both on four screens too, reflecting a definite pickup in the specialty space. Spielberg’s written, directed and produced semi-autobiographical tale debuted into one of the biggest openings of the year with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The Universal Pictures’ release has the potential to drum up strong weekday business from older demos (U’s Ticket To Paradise has) that don’t feel the need to rush out on opening weekend, especially with Wakanda fever, or on weekends in general. It’s preparing to expand to 600 screens on Nov. 23 and will likely go beyond that given an A Cinema Score, mid-90 Certified Fresh ratings on Rotten Tomatoes with audiences/critics,...
The Universal Pictures’ release has the potential to drum up strong weekday business from older demos (U’s Ticket To Paradise has) that don’t feel the need to rush out on opening weekend, especially with Wakanda fever, or on weekends in general. It’s preparing to expand to 600 screens on Nov. 23 and will likely go beyond that given an A Cinema Score, mid-90 Certified Fresh ratings on Rotten Tomatoes with audiences/critics,...
- 11/13/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
With You Resemble Me currently playing at the Angelika Film Center, Filmmaker presents two guest posts about the film’s self-distribution, one by the film’s writer and director, Dina Amer, and, below, one by producer Elizabeth Woodward. After a beautiful premiere in Venice, 30 festival awards from over 70 festivals around the world, our special film You Resemble Me did not have any meaningful distribution offers on the table. We could not believe that our only option was to take a deal that not only would place the film in a catalog of films that we didn’t feel were of the […]
The post “We Had Made This Film Against All Odds… Why Not Take On This Last Chapter of the Film’s Journey Ourselves?”: You Resemble Me Producer Elizabeth Woodward on Embracing Self-Distribution first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “We Had Made This Film Against All Odds… Why Not Take On This Last Chapter of the Film’s Journey Ourselves?”: You Resemble Me Producer Elizabeth Woodward on Embracing Self-Distribution first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/4/2022
- by Elizabeth Woodward
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
With You Resemble Me currently playing at the Angelika Film Center, Filmmaker presents two guest posts about the film’s self-distribution, one by the film’s writer and director, Dina Amer, and, below, one by producer Elizabeth Woodward. After a beautiful premiere in Venice, 30 festival awards from over 70 festivals around the world, our special film You Resemble Me did not have any meaningful distribution offers on the table. We could not believe that our only option was to take a deal that not only would place the film in a catalog of films that we didn’t feel were of the […]
The post “We Had Made This Film Against All Odds… Why Not Take On This Last Chapter of the Film’s Journey Ourselves?”: You Resemble Me Producer Elizabeth Woodward on Embracing Self-Distribution first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “We Had Made This Film Against All Odds… Why Not Take On This Last Chapter of the Film’s Journey Ourselves?”: You Resemble Me Producer Elizabeth Woodward on Embracing Self-Distribution first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/4/2022
- by Elizabeth Woodward
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
It’s been nearly seven years since I embarked on the journey of my directorial debut, You Resemble Me. It has been a thorny and steep hill to climb. My film is about a woman caught in the center of a terrorist attack, notorious after being named the first female suicide bomber in Europe. I’m a Muslim Egyptian American–not a fluent French speaker–and yet I found myself drawn to a story, at once delicate and destructive, one with roots buried deep in French soil, layers of history — of, for many, injury — that are still raw. The decision to make the […]
The post “We are Proving the Market Wrong and Hopefully Inspiring Other Filmmakers”: Writer/Director Dina Amer on Bringing You Resemble Me to Screen first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “We are Proving the Market Wrong and Hopefully Inspiring Other Filmmakers”: Writer/Director Dina Amer on Bringing You Resemble Me to Screen first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/4/2022
- by Dina Amer
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
It’s been nearly seven years since I embarked on the journey of my directorial debut, You Resemble Me. It has been a thorny and steep hill to climb. My film is about a woman caught in the center of a terrorist attack, notorious after being named the first female suicide bomber in Europe. I’m a Muslim Egyptian American–not a fluent French speaker–and yet I found myself drawn to a story, at once delicate and destructive, one with roots buried deep in French soil, layers of history — of, for many, injury — that are still raw. The decision to make the […]
The post “We are Proving the Market Wrong and Hopefully Inspiring Other Filmmakers”: Writer/Director Dina Amer on Bringing You Resemble Me to Screen first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “We are Proving the Market Wrong and Hopefully Inspiring Other Filmmakers”: Writer/Director Dina Amer on Bringing You Resemble Me to Screen first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/4/2022
- by Dina Amer
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Indie distributor Utopia, currently in theaters with Holy Spider, anticipates music documentary Meet Me In The Bathroom will be its biggest weekend opening to date.
It’s holding onto numbers for Sunday from one-night premieres this past week in LA at the Fonda and in NY at Webster Hall with live performances by The Moldy Peaches, Adam Green, Wah Together and special guests Tim Heidecker and Jim Jarmusch. This weekend, the event film by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, co-produced by Vice, Xtr and Pulse Films, opens at the IFC Center and Los Feliz with multiple shows sold out. Films and presales speak “to the growing 2000s nostalgia, but also the iconic impact of the bands featured in the film and their continued artistry and output,” said marketing chief Kyle Greenberg.
This early 2000s NYC indie rock scene immersion acquired out of Sundance expands to 150 screens Nov. 8 for one-night engagements...
It’s holding onto numbers for Sunday from one-night premieres this past week in LA at the Fonda and in NY at Webster Hall with live performances by The Moldy Peaches, Adam Green, Wah Together and special guests Tim Heidecker and Jim Jarmusch. This weekend, the event film by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, co-produced by Vice, Xtr and Pulse Films, opens at the IFC Center and Los Feliz with multiple shows sold out. Films and presales speak “to the growing 2000s nostalgia, but also the iconic impact of the bands featured in the film and their continued artistry and output,” said marketing chief Kyle Greenberg.
This early 2000s NYC indie rock scene immersion acquired out of Sundance expands to 150 screens Nov. 8 for one-night engagements...
- 11/4/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
‘You Resemble Me’ Review: Fractured Life of a Radicalized Frenchwoman Becomes a Kaleidoscopic Biopic
Sisters Hasna and Mariam look alike and inseparable, a few years apart but bonded like twins, sporting identical floral dresses (minus the snipped-off security tags) as they bounce around the fringes of their Parisian housing estate while their neglectful mother sleeps. What these twirling balls of energy say to each other at their most connected — like a mantra of togetherness in a world of hardship — is the title of Dina Amer’s narrative feature debut: “You Resemble Me.”
But that title could also be what Amer hopes the older sister, Hasna, might say today, if she could, about the bursting, restless slice of tragedy that tells her story — a troubled girl from a broken home and an isolating foster system who becomes a lost, searching woman introduced to the wider world through her worst decision: getting involved with the terrorists who lay siege on Paris in November of 2015, dying in...
But that title could also be what Amer hopes the older sister, Hasna, might say today, if she could, about the bursting, restless slice of tragedy that tells her story — a troubled girl from a broken home and an isolating foster system who becomes a lost, searching woman introduced to the wider world through her worst decision: getting involved with the terrorists who lay siege on Paris in November of 2015, dying in...
- 11/3/2022
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
Four days after the November 2015 Paris attacks, French police raided an apartment building in the suburban neighborhood of Saint-Denis in search of the mastermind responsible for the bloodshed. He was killed, along with several others — most notably a young woman named Hasna Aït Boulahcen, reported to be Europe’s first suicide bomber. Vice journalist Dina Amer, an Egyptian-American Muslim, was one of the people who reported that news from the scene; when viral cell phone video of the events later revealed that Aït Boulahcen had been a casualty of the explosion and not its cause, Amer became obsessed with learning the truth behind why Aït Boulahcen was in Saint-Denis that night (and also with atoning for the media’s rush to judgment and racist penchant for othering).
Within days of Aït Boulahcen’s death, Amer began recording more than 360 hours of interview footage with the late woman’s family and friends,...
Within days of Aït Boulahcen’s death, Amer began recording more than 360 hours of interview footage with the late woman’s family and friends,...
- 11/2/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
On the night of November 13, 2015, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks throughout Paris left 130 people dead and hundreds injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), which was then in control of large swaths of land in the Middle East, took responsibility for the attacks. A week into the nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators, police had zeroed in and raided an apartment they suspected housed the mastermind behind the attacks. The raid resulted in the death of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a 26-year-old Frenchwoman of Moroccan descent who friends had described as “living in her own world” until she adopted strict Islamic dress and expressed desires to become a Jihadi in the months leading up to the attacks.
Continue reading ‘You Resemble Me’ Trailer: Dina Amer’s Celebrated Debut Film Gets Co-Signed By Producers Spike Lee, Spike Jonze & Riz Ahmed at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘You Resemble Me’ Trailer: Dina Amer’s Celebrated Debut Film Gets Co-Signed By Producers Spike Lee, Spike Jonze & Riz Ahmed at The Playlist.
- 10/24/2022
- by Rosa Martinez
- The Playlist
Boasting quite the list of names backing the project in a producing capacity––including Spike Lee, Riz Ahmed, Alma Har’el, Spike Jonze, and Crystal Moselle––the directorial debut of Dina Amer is finally arriving next month following a premiere at last year’s Venice Film Festival. You Resemble Me tells the true story of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a woman who was falsely accused of being Europe’s first female suicide bomber. Ahead of the November 4 release, the new trailer and poster hav now arrived.
Rory O’Connor said in his review, “The worlds of contemporary geopolitics and narrative independent filmmaking collide in You Resemble Me, a movie that shape-shifts from a first act coming-of-age tale into something searing and provocative, and ripped straight from the headlines. Bold and scattered, it marks a formidable debut for Dina Amer, a first time director who emerges with no shortage of credentials: an award-winning journalist...
Rory O’Connor said in his review, “The worlds of contemporary geopolitics and narrative independent filmmaking collide in You Resemble Me, a movie that shape-shifts from a first act coming-of-age tale into something searing and provocative, and ripped straight from the headlines. Bold and scattered, it marks a formidable debut for Dina Amer, a first time director who emerges with no shortage of credentials: an award-winning journalist...
- 10/22/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
You Resemble Me Trailer — Dina Amer‘s You Resemble Me (2022) movie trailer has been released by Dedza Films. The You Resemble Me trailer stars Lorenza Grimaudo, Ilonna Grimaudo, Mouna Soualem, and Sabrina Ouazani. Crew Dina Amer and Omar Mullick wrote the screenplay for You Resemble Me. “It’s executive produced by fellow filmmakers Spike Jonze, Spike [...]
Continue reading: You Resemble Me (2022) Movie Trailer: Two Siblings are Torn Apart in Dina Amer’s Drama Film...
Continue reading: You Resemble Me (2022) Movie Trailer: Two Siblings are Torn Apart in Dina Amer’s Drama Film...
- 10/21/2022
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
"A powerful cry from the heart." Dedza Films has released the official US trailer for a French / Egyptian indie project titled You Resemble Me, an emotional true story drama about two sisters - marking the feature debut of filmmaker Dina Amer. This first premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival last year in the Critics' Week sidebar, and has played at many other fests, including at the 2022 Santa Barbara Film Festival earlier this year. When two young sisters are torn apart, the older one loses her identity and transforms into someone new in the name of belonging and resistance. It's been 7 years since Bataclan and the shocking incident with Hasna Aït Boulahcen. Inspired by true events, You Resemble Me tells her story. In narrative form, the film recounts Hasna's upbringing, the unfortunate events that led to her choices, and the way she was depicted in the media. "An insistence on...
- 10/21/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The first trailer for “You Resemble Me,” the feature directorial debut of “The Square” associate producer Dina Amer, has been unveiled. The film debuted at Venice in 2021 and has had a stellar festival run since, picking up plaudits on the way.
The film, executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Riz Ahmed and Alma Har’el, tells the true story of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a woman who was falsely accused of being Europe’s first female suicide bomber. It follows two sisters on the outskirts of Paris and after the siblings are torn apart, the eldest, Hasna, struggles to find her identity, leading to a choice that shocks the world.
The starting point for the film was the Bataclan attacks in Paris, where Amer was a journalist reporting on the scene.
“As a Muslim Egyptian woman living in the West, I’ve struggled to reconcile pieces of my identity that feel contradictory.
The film, executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Riz Ahmed and Alma Har’el, tells the true story of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a woman who was falsely accused of being Europe’s first female suicide bomber. It follows two sisters on the outskirts of Paris and after the siblings are torn apart, the eldest, Hasna, struggles to find her identity, leading to a choice that shocks the world.
The starting point for the film was the Bataclan attacks in Paris, where Amer was a journalist reporting on the scene.
“As a Muslim Egyptian woman living in the West, I’ve struggled to reconcile pieces of my identity that feel contradictory.
- 10/21/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Egyptian-American director Dina Amer’s politically sensitive drama “You Resemble Me,” the story of Hasna Aït Boulahcen who in 2015 was wrongly believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber, is getting a Middle East release via Front Row Filmed Entertainment.
Amer’s feature debut, which world premiered positively at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, is a deeply researched character study of the fragile young Muslim woman who became linked to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris even though she didn’t participate in them. Aït Boulahcen died during an anti-terrorism raid alongside her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was one of the ringleaders of the coordinated assaults that killed 130 people in the French capital, including 90 at the Bataclan theater.
Executive-produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Alma Har’el, and Riz Ahmed, “You Resemble Me” world premiered last year from the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days section. Pic’s Middle East festival...
Amer’s feature debut, which world premiered positively at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, is a deeply researched character study of the fragile young Muslim woman who became linked to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris even though she didn’t participate in them. Aït Boulahcen died during an anti-terrorism raid alongside her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was one of the ringleaders of the coordinated assaults that killed 130 people in the French capital, including 90 at the Bataclan theater.
Executive-produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Alma Har’el, and Riz Ahmed, “You Resemble Me” world premiered last year from the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days section. Pic’s Middle East festival...
- 9/19/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Among the pandemic’s many side effects, it created a unique capacity to force even the most august institutions to experience identity crises and growing pains. And in the film industry, perhaps no organization has felt this syndrome more acutely than the Sundance Institute.
“We have to look back at how do we sustain Sundance, for the future,” Michelle Satter, director of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, told me. “We’re in a moment of stepping back and making tough decisions. You have to prioritize, and build back.”
After longtime festival director John Cooper left in 2020, Sundance veteran Tabitha Jackson took over; she stepped down June 7 and the festival now seeks a new leader. Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam left in 2021; Joana Vicente, who helped guide the Toronto International Film Festival during the pandemic, is now tasked with putting Sundance on its feet. Two years of a virtual Sundance...
“We have to look back at how do we sustain Sundance, for the future,” Michelle Satter, director of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, told me. “We’re in a moment of stepping back and making tough decisions. You have to prioritize, and build back.”
After longtime festival director John Cooper left in 2020, Sundance veteran Tabitha Jackson took over; she stepped down June 7 and the festival now seeks a new leader. Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam left in 2021; Joana Vicente, who helped guide the Toronto International Film Festival during the pandemic, is now tasked with putting Sundance on its feet. Two years of a virtual Sundance...
- 6/23/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
List features screenplays by US-Egyptian filmmaker Dina Amer, Nigerian screenwriter Onyinye Egenti and Chinese-us director Eris Qian.
Paris-based talent platform Wscripted has unveiled its second Cannes Screenplay List showcasing a selection of scripts by female and non-binary writers.
This year’s list, which has been created in partnership with streaming service Mubi, features 25-English-language and six French-language feature scripts available for option or financing, by women screenwriters from France, Nigeria North America and the UK.
The selected talents include US-Egyptian filmmaker Dina Amer, Nigerian screenwriter Onyinye Egenti and Chinese-us director Eris Qian.
Amer broke out internationally in 2021 her first feature...
Paris-based talent platform Wscripted has unveiled its second Cannes Screenplay List showcasing a selection of scripts by female and non-binary writers.
This year’s list, which has been created in partnership with streaming service Mubi, features 25-English-language and six French-language feature scripts available for option or financing, by women screenwriters from France, Nigeria North America and the UK.
The selected talents include US-Egyptian filmmaker Dina Amer, Nigerian screenwriter Onyinye Egenti and Chinese-us director Eris Qian.
Amer broke out internationally in 2021 her first feature...
- 5/18/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
In preparation for a summer return to in-person artist development labs, the Sundance Institute today named those selected as fellows for its 2022 Directors, Screenwriters and Native Labs.
Creatives developing original work for the screen as part of the Native Lab include Justin Ducharme (Positions), Taietsarón:sere ‘Tai’ Leclaire (How to Deal with Systemic Racism in the Afterlife), Daniel Pewewardy (Residential), Tiare Ribeaux (Huaka’i) and Tim Worrall (Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End).
Those participating in the Directors Lab and/or the Screenwriters Lab include Dina Amer (Cain and Abel), Zandashé Brown (The Matriarch), Caledonia Curry and Meagan Brothers (Sibylant Sisters), Hasan Hadi (The President’s Cake), Michael León and Ashley Alvafez (Crabs in a Barrel), Eliza McNitt (Black Hole), Olive Nwosu (Lady), Neo Sora (Earthquake) and Yuan Yang (Late Spring).
The Native Lab began online from May 2-6 and continues in person from May 9-14, in Santa Fe, Nm, for...
Creatives developing original work for the screen as part of the Native Lab include Justin Ducharme (Positions), Taietsarón:sere ‘Tai’ Leclaire (How to Deal with Systemic Racism in the Afterlife), Daniel Pewewardy (Residential), Tiare Ribeaux (Huaka’i) and Tim Worrall (Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End).
Those participating in the Directors Lab and/or the Screenwriters Lab include Dina Amer (Cain and Abel), Zandashé Brown (The Matriarch), Caledonia Curry and Meagan Brothers (Sibylant Sisters), Hasan Hadi (The President’s Cake), Michael León and Ashley Alvafez (Crabs in a Barrel), Eliza McNitt (Black Hole), Olive Nwosu (Lady), Neo Sora (Earthquake) and Yuan Yang (Late Spring).
The Native Lab began online from May 2-6 and continues in person from May 9-14, in Santa Fe, Nm, for...
- 5/9/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Organisation prepares to return to in-person artist development Labs this summer.
As it prepares to return to in-person artist development Labs this summer Sundance Institute has announced the 2022 Fellows across its signature Directors, Screenwriters, and Native Labs.
Nineteen emerging creators, eight from the Native Lab and 11 from the Directors and Screenwriters Lab will be supported at this year’s Labs as they work to develop original work for the screen, with guidance and mentorship from seasoned creative professionals.
The Native Lab focused on development of storytellers from Native and Indigenous backgrounds ran online from May 2-6 and continues in-person from May 9-14 in Santa Fe,...
As it prepares to return to in-person artist development Labs this summer Sundance Institute has announced the 2022 Fellows across its signature Directors, Screenwriters, and Native Labs.
Nineteen emerging creators, eight from the Native Lab and 11 from the Directors and Screenwriters Lab will be supported at this year’s Labs as they work to develop original work for the screen, with guidance and mentorship from seasoned creative professionals.
The Native Lab focused on development of storytellers from Native and Indigenous backgrounds ran online from May 2-6 and continues in-person from May 9-14 in Santa Fe,...
- 5/9/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Red Sea International Film Festival’s selection of 12 projects from new and exciting voices from Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab region selected for the Red Sea Lodge, a mentoring program in collaboration with the Torino Film Lab, is a key part of the Festival’s drive to support and promote talent.
At the first edition of the Festival in December, The Red Sea Lodge 2021 winners The Zarqa Girl by Zaid Abuhamdan and The Photographer of Madina by Dalyah Bakheet each received a grant of US 100,000.
The Red Sea Lodge schedule is made up of 5 intensive labs designed to take a diversity of talent at the early stages of their career through the essentials of filmmaking to bring authentic stories to the screen.
The 8 month-program, designed to nurture and support emerging talent, will also improve access to Arab content and drive the potential of Arab talent on the international stage. The final workshop will take place during the second edition of the Festival which is scheduled to run from 1–10 December in Jeddah.
Of the 12 projects selected, 6 are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon. 50 of them are directed, produced, and written by women. As the Saudi Film industry continues to flourish and strives to become the Middle East’s film production hub, cinemas are reporting exponential growth and international productions are heading to shoot in the Kingdom this is an undoubtedly an opportune time for filmmakers breaking into the industry.
The selection committee features leading industry experts, including Savina Neirotti; Executive Director, TorinoFilmLab, Violeta Bava; Head of Studies, TorinoFilmLab, Jumana Zahid; Red Sea Lodge Manager, Shivani Pandya Malhotra; Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, Antoine Khalife; Director of the Arab Program, Red Sea International Film Festival, and Kaleem Aftab; Director of International Programming, Red Sea International Film Festival.
Also supporting the committee is Faiza Amba; Saudi Arabian film writer-director; Mohammad Sayed; Egyptian film critic and scriptwriter and Ziad Seaibi; Lebanese actor and lecturer at the Notre Dame University.
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, said: “Together with the Torino Film Lab we are thrilled to be unveiling the next 12 unique projects for The Red Sea Lodge. The feedback from past participants has been very encouraging and this year’s selection is an exciting slate of projects with bold cultural and social ambitions from a diverse selection of voices. The Red Sea Lodge is now building momentum and proving to be a vital support initiative which helps Arab talent to reach new heights in their film careers and ultimately amplify the impact of Saudi and Arab film around the world.”
The selected projects from Saudi Arabia are:
Seasons of Love & War — based on the novel ‘Divers of the Desert’ written by Amal Alfaran, Director/Screenplay Hana Alomair, Co-Writer/Producer Soha Samir.
A Last Argument Against Youth: Writer — Director Mohemmed Algbreen, producer Raghad Bajbaa.
The Crow Nest — Writer/Director Feras Almusharrei, Producer Razan Al Soghayer, Writer Taqwa Ali.
Al Qais — Writer/Director Lujain Hussain, Writer — Producer Abdulrahman Hakeem.
Tahweedah — Writer/Director Omar Al Omirat, Producer Asd Alkarimi.
Yajuj: Curse Of Iram — Director Fahmi Farahat, Producer Jomana Alquraish, Writer Murad Amayreh.
Projects from the wider Arab world:
The Settlement — Egypt — France; Writer/Director Mohamed Rashad, Producer Hala Lotfy.
A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers — Algeria — France; Writer/Director Sofia Djama, Producer Aurélie Turc.
Cain And Abel — Egypt — USA — France; Director Dina Amer, Producer Karim Amer, Writer Omar Mullick.
Dogmas — France — Algeria; Writer/Director Salah Issaad, Producer Taqiyeddine Issaad.
Bubblegum Brigades — Lebanon; Director Samah El Kadi, Producer Michelle Ayoub, Writer Rani Nasr.
Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore — Egypt; Writer/Director Morad Mostafa, Producer Sawsan Yusuf.
The second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 1–10, 2022.
At the first edition of the Festival in December, The Red Sea Lodge 2021 winners The Zarqa Girl by Zaid Abuhamdan and The Photographer of Madina by Dalyah Bakheet each received a grant of US 100,000.
The Red Sea Lodge schedule is made up of 5 intensive labs designed to take a diversity of talent at the early stages of their career through the essentials of filmmaking to bring authentic stories to the screen.
The 8 month-program, designed to nurture and support emerging talent, will also improve access to Arab content and drive the potential of Arab talent on the international stage. The final workshop will take place during the second edition of the Festival which is scheduled to run from 1–10 December in Jeddah.
Of the 12 projects selected, 6 are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon. 50 of them are directed, produced, and written by women. As the Saudi Film industry continues to flourish and strives to become the Middle East’s film production hub, cinemas are reporting exponential growth and international productions are heading to shoot in the Kingdom this is an undoubtedly an opportune time for filmmakers breaking into the industry.
The selection committee features leading industry experts, including Savina Neirotti; Executive Director, TorinoFilmLab, Violeta Bava; Head of Studies, TorinoFilmLab, Jumana Zahid; Red Sea Lodge Manager, Shivani Pandya Malhotra; Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, Antoine Khalife; Director of the Arab Program, Red Sea International Film Festival, and Kaleem Aftab; Director of International Programming, Red Sea International Film Festival.
Also supporting the committee is Faiza Amba; Saudi Arabian film writer-director; Mohammad Sayed; Egyptian film critic and scriptwriter and Ziad Seaibi; Lebanese actor and lecturer at the Notre Dame University.
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, said: “Together with the Torino Film Lab we are thrilled to be unveiling the next 12 unique projects for The Red Sea Lodge. The feedback from past participants has been very encouraging and this year’s selection is an exciting slate of projects with bold cultural and social ambitions from a diverse selection of voices. The Red Sea Lodge is now building momentum and proving to be a vital support initiative which helps Arab talent to reach new heights in their film careers and ultimately amplify the impact of Saudi and Arab film around the world.”
The selected projects from Saudi Arabia are:
Seasons of Love & War — based on the novel ‘Divers of the Desert’ written by Amal Alfaran, Director/Screenplay Hana Alomair, Co-Writer/Producer Soha Samir.
A Last Argument Against Youth: Writer — Director Mohemmed Algbreen, producer Raghad Bajbaa.
The Crow Nest — Writer/Director Feras Almusharrei, Producer Razan Al Soghayer, Writer Taqwa Ali.
Al Qais — Writer/Director Lujain Hussain, Writer — Producer Abdulrahman Hakeem.
Tahweedah — Writer/Director Omar Al Omirat, Producer Asd Alkarimi.
Yajuj: Curse Of Iram — Director Fahmi Farahat, Producer Jomana Alquraish, Writer Murad Amayreh.
Projects from the wider Arab world:
The Settlement — Egypt — France; Writer/Director Mohamed Rashad, Producer Hala Lotfy.
A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers — Algeria — France; Writer/Director Sofia Djama, Producer Aurélie Turc.
Cain And Abel — Egypt — USA — France; Director Dina Amer, Producer Karim Amer, Writer Omar Mullick.
Dogmas — France — Algeria; Writer/Director Salah Issaad, Producer Taqiyeddine Issaad.
Bubblegum Brigades — Lebanon; Director Samah El Kadi, Producer Michelle Ayoub, Writer Rani Nasr.
Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore — Egypt; Writer/Director Morad Mostafa, Producer Sawsan Yusuf.
The second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 1–10, 2022.
- 5/8/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
The Red Sea International Film Festival in partnership with Vox Cinemas, Mbc Group, and Saudia Airlines announced the winners of the Red Sea competition sections. The 16 feature, 18 shorts selection and 21 ground-breaking global virtual reality experiences are a celebration of the most exciting, innovative new films and cinematic storytelling from established and emerging filmmakers from the Arab world and Africa.
This year’s jury included: President of the Red Sea Features Competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director, writer, actress, and producer Cherien Dabis, Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei.
Competition Jury Prize went to the Cannes Directors Fortnight premiering Hit the Road by Panah Panahi from Iran.
Competition Best Film went to Brighton 4th by Levan Koguashvili a coproduction of Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, USA, Monaco. This is Georgia’s submission for Oscar Nomination for Best International Film and the winner of the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles for Best Picture. This film about the Georgian emigrants living in Brighton Beach, USA today captures the heart of the viewers with its open sharing of the Georgians today. Its director Levan Koguashvili graduated NYU Film school. The film is the winner of three prizes at Cottbus Film Festival and three awards at Tribeca as well.
Competition Best Actor and Best Director for Europa went to Amal Ali and Haider Rashid respectively, a coproduction of Iraq, Italy, and Kuwait:
Haider Rashid says, “Regarding the main role, Kamal, I was set on finding an actor who could understand the sense of displacement that we wanted to portray on an emotional level. My colleague Daniele Bernabei ran into a trailer for a short film while at the Short Film Corner in Cannes and sent it to me, as the cast was composed of several Arab actors. As soon as I saw Adam Ali I felt there was something interesting about him, a silent movie face in a way. That made me want to find out more, since we were going to make a film in which dialogue is at a minimum and most of the film is on the protagonist’s shoulders.
While he was in Canada shooting Apple+’s Little America, we had a very interesting conversation and found some common grounds on certain issues like the misrepresentation of certain ethnicities in film and TV and what it feels like to be sometimes torn between two cultures. Adam is of Libyan origins and moved with his family to Manchester when he was a child, so the issue of identity was also a common ground between us.
Of course this film is pretty different as it is so physical and it was clear that we were going to do many things that not every actor would be willing to do. While speaking to Adam, it seemed to me that there was a certain pride about him that would help me in pushing him in certain directions both physically and emotionally by sometimes provoking him. He was great in being determined to do what was necessary and I have to say he was really brave in how he faced the physical and emotional challenges that the story entailed.”
Competition Best Actress Award went to Arawinda Kirana for her role in Yuni a production of Indonesia, Singapore, France, Australia. She also won for best actress in the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles. This is a beautifully shot story of the feisy rebellion of a young woman in Indonesia today, a place we have not seen in its contemporary feminine aspects until now.
Best Saudi Film Rupture by Hamzah K. Jamjoom — Saudi Arabia
Audience Award You Resemble Me by Dina Amer — Egypt, France, USA
Immersive Silver Yusr Samsara by Hsin-Chien Huang — Taiwan
Immersive Gold Yusr End of Night by David Adler — Denmark, France
Short Competition Golden Yusr Tala’vision by Murad Abu Eisheh — Jordan, Germany
Competition Special Mention Farha by Darin J. Sallam — Jordan
Competition Best Cinematic Contribution went to Amin Jafari for Hit the Road — Iran
Competition Best Screenplay Neighbours by Mano Khalil — Syria, Switzerland...
This year’s jury included: President of the Red Sea Features Competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director, writer, actress, and producer Cherien Dabis, Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei.
Competition Jury Prize went to the Cannes Directors Fortnight premiering Hit the Road by Panah Panahi from Iran.
Competition Best Film went to Brighton 4th by Levan Koguashvili a coproduction of Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, USA, Monaco. This is Georgia’s submission for Oscar Nomination for Best International Film and the winner of the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles for Best Picture. This film about the Georgian emigrants living in Brighton Beach, USA today captures the heart of the viewers with its open sharing of the Georgians today. Its director Levan Koguashvili graduated NYU Film school. The film is the winner of three prizes at Cottbus Film Festival and three awards at Tribeca as well.
Competition Best Actor and Best Director for Europa went to Amal Ali and Haider Rashid respectively, a coproduction of Iraq, Italy, and Kuwait:
Haider Rashid says, “Regarding the main role, Kamal, I was set on finding an actor who could understand the sense of displacement that we wanted to portray on an emotional level. My colleague Daniele Bernabei ran into a trailer for a short film while at the Short Film Corner in Cannes and sent it to me, as the cast was composed of several Arab actors. As soon as I saw Adam Ali I felt there was something interesting about him, a silent movie face in a way. That made me want to find out more, since we were going to make a film in which dialogue is at a minimum and most of the film is on the protagonist’s shoulders.
While he was in Canada shooting Apple+’s Little America, we had a very interesting conversation and found some common grounds on certain issues like the misrepresentation of certain ethnicities in film and TV and what it feels like to be sometimes torn between two cultures. Adam is of Libyan origins and moved with his family to Manchester when he was a child, so the issue of identity was also a common ground between us.
Of course this film is pretty different as it is so physical and it was clear that we were going to do many things that not every actor would be willing to do. While speaking to Adam, it seemed to me that there was a certain pride about him that would help me in pushing him in certain directions both physically and emotionally by sometimes provoking him. He was great in being determined to do what was necessary and I have to say he was really brave in how he faced the physical and emotional challenges that the story entailed.”
Competition Best Actress Award went to Arawinda Kirana for her role in Yuni a production of Indonesia, Singapore, France, Australia. She also won for best actress in the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles. This is a beautifully shot story of the feisy rebellion of a young woman in Indonesia today, a place we have not seen in its contemporary feminine aspects until now.
Best Saudi Film Rupture by Hamzah K. Jamjoom — Saudi Arabia
Audience Award You Resemble Me by Dina Amer — Egypt, France, USA
Immersive Silver Yusr Samsara by Hsin-Chien Huang — Taiwan
Immersive Gold Yusr End of Night by David Adler — Denmark, France
Short Competition Golden Yusr Tala’vision by Murad Abu Eisheh — Jordan, Germany
Competition Special Mention Farha by Darin J. Sallam — Jordan
Competition Best Cinematic Contribution went to Amin Jafari for Hit the Road — Iran
Competition Best Screenplay Neighbours by Mano Khalil — Syria, Switzerland...
- 5/8/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Czech crime series “Nineties” by Slovak director Peter Bebjak drew 2.23 million viewers over six nights on Czech Television – the best result for a Czech series in the past 18 years, according to Film New Europe.
The fifth episode, “Barrels,” broke the rating record with 2.41 million viewers (one in four Czechs watched it), becoming the most watched TV show in primetime since the start of the electronic measurement of broadcasting rating in 1997.
“Nineties” is based on real criminal cases that occurred in the 90s, after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. The series has six episodes and the main characters are played by Martin Finger, Kryštof Bartoš, Ondřej Sokol, Vasil Fridrich and Robert Mikluš.
The series is directed by Bebjak and Dan Wlodarczyk, and was produced by Czech Television, and creative producer Michal Reitler.
‘You Resemble Me’ Wins Prague Iff – Febiofest
The debut feature by Dina Amer, “You Resemble Me,” a coproduction between France,...
The fifth episode, “Barrels,” broke the rating record with 2.41 million viewers (one in four Czechs watched it), becoming the most watched TV show in primetime since the start of the electronic measurement of broadcasting rating in 1997.
“Nineties” is based on real criminal cases that occurred in the 90s, after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. The series has six episodes and the main characters are played by Martin Finger, Kryštof Bartoš, Ondřej Sokol, Vasil Fridrich and Robert Mikluš.
The series is directed by Bebjak and Dan Wlodarczyk, and was produced by Czech Television, and creative producer Michal Reitler.
‘You Resemble Me’ Wins Prague Iff – Febiofest
The debut feature by Dina Amer, “You Resemble Me,” a coproduction between France,...
- 5/5/2022
- by Ales Hudsky
- Variety Film + TV
Nejc Gazvoda, whose previous films include “A Trip” and “Dual,” has started shooting “Father Figure” in his home town, Novo Mesto, Slovenia. The film will be shot in 25 days and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023, online news service Film New Europe reports.
“Father Figure” is an absurdist tale, written by Gazvoda, which follows a mother and her son who move from Ljubljana to a small town after the mother’s divorce. Jan is in his final year of elementary school, and Maja is a psychologist at the same school. The film begins with the reopening of schools after the end of the pandemic, but things do not seem to be the way they were before.
“ ‘Father Figure’ is a film about a particular period (the middle of 2021), set in an elementary school, and all the issues it deals with are concrete: peer violence, loneliness, dignity. At the same time,...
“Father Figure” is an absurdist tale, written by Gazvoda, which follows a mother and her son who move from Ljubljana to a small town after the mother’s divorce. Jan is in his final year of elementary school, and Maja is a psychologist at the same school. The film begins with the reopening of schools after the end of the pandemic, but things do not seem to be the way they were before.
“ ‘Father Figure’ is a film about a particular period (the middle of 2021), set in an elementary school, and all the issues it deals with are concrete: peer violence, loneliness, dignity. At the same time,...
- 4/21/2022
- by Damijan Vinter
- Variety Film + TV
12 upcoming films from the Middle East and North Africa will be supported by project and talent incubator.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has unveiled the 12 projects selected for this year’s edition of its Red Sea Lodge project and talent development programme.
Of the 12 projects selected, six are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon, with 50% of the participants directed, produced, and written by women
The selection includes Saudi director and writer Hana Alomair’s feature directorial debut Seasons Of Love And War. The love triangle tale set in an...
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has unveiled the 12 projects selected for this year’s edition of its Red Sea Lodge project and talent development programme.
Of the 12 projects selected, six are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon, with 50% of the participants directed, produced, and written by women
The selection includes Saudi director and writer Hana Alomair’s feature directorial debut Seasons Of Love And War. The love triangle tale set in an...
- 3/15/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Hybrid event ran March 4-13.
Dramas from Hispaniola dominated the jury and audience awards at the hybrid 39th Miami Film Festival as Géssica Généus’s Haiti-set Freda won the $25,000 Knight Marimbas Award and Jose Maria Cabral’s Dominican Republic production Parsley took the audience feature film award.
The festival, which ran both in-theater and virtual presentations and ran from March 4-13, gave special recognition through the Knight Marimbas jury to actor Haztin Navarrete from The Box and actress Mari Oliveira from Medusa.
A third Hispaniola drama, Carajita (Dr-Arg) by Ulises Porra and Silvina Schnicer, was awarded the $10,000 HBO Ibero-American Feature Film Award sponsored by WarnerMedia.
Dramas from Hispaniola dominated the jury and audience awards at the hybrid 39th Miami Film Festival as Géssica Généus’s Haiti-set Freda won the $25,000 Knight Marimbas Award and Jose Maria Cabral’s Dominican Republic production Parsley took the audience feature film award.
The festival, which ran both in-theater and virtual presentations and ran from March 4-13, gave special recognition through the Knight Marimbas jury to actor Haztin Navarrete from The Box and actress Mari Oliveira from Medusa.
A third Hispaniola drama, Carajita (Dr-Arg) by Ulises Porra and Silvina Schnicer, was awarded the $10,000 HBO Ibero-American Feature Film Award sponsored by WarnerMedia.
- 3/14/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The feature film “Freda” and short film “You Can Always Come Home,” both family dramas, earned top prizes at the 39th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival. Presented in a hybrid format this year, with both in-theater and virtual presentations, the 2022 Festival ran from March 4-13.
Making its U.S. premiere at this year’s Festival, “Freda,” directed by Géssica Généus, earned the top award for her first feature set in Haiti, the $25,000 Knight Marimbas Award. The winning film was selected by jury members Damon D’Oliveria, April Dobbins and Rubén Peralta Rigaud. Of the film, the jury noted, “this film resonated with all of us for its strong, female-centered narrative, and its exceptional performances from emerging actors. We couldn’t stop thinking about this world and these characters, and we appreciated being immersed in a place that we don’t often see onscreen – portrayed in such a realistic,...
Making its U.S. premiere at this year’s Festival, “Freda,” directed by Géssica Généus, earned the top award for her first feature set in Haiti, the $25,000 Knight Marimbas Award. The winning film was selected by jury members Damon D’Oliveria, April Dobbins and Rubén Peralta Rigaud. Of the film, the jury noted, “this film resonated with all of us for its strong, female-centered narrative, and its exceptional performances from emerging actors. We couldn’t stop thinking about this world and these characters, and we appreciated being immersed in a place that we don’t often see onscreen – portrayed in such a realistic,...
- 3/13/2022
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
Two family dramas, the feature film Freda and short film You Can Always Come Home, have earned the top prizes at the 39th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival. Presented in a hybrid format with in-theater and virtual presentations, the 2022 Festival ran from March 4 through tomorrow.
Making its US premiere at this year’s Festival, Freda, directed by Géssica Généus, earned the top award for her first feature. Set in Haiti, the $25,000 Knight Marimbas Award, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is an international competition for new narrative feature films that best exemplify richness and resonance for cinema’s future.
The winning film was selected by jury members Damon D’Oliveria, April Dobbins, and Rubén Peralta Rigaud. The jury said, “This film resonated with all of us for its strong, female-centered narrative, and its exceptional performances from emerging actors. We couldn’t stop...
Making its US premiere at this year’s Festival, Freda, directed by Géssica Généus, earned the top award for her first feature. Set in Haiti, the $25,000 Knight Marimbas Award, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is an international competition for new narrative feature films that best exemplify richness and resonance for cinema’s future.
The winning film was selected by jury members Damon D’Oliveria, April Dobbins, and Rubén Peralta Rigaud. The jury said, “This film resonated with all of us for its strong, female-centered narrative, and its exceptional performances from emerging actors. We couldn’t stop...
- 3/13/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
The Santa Barbara Film Festival unveiled winners for its 37th edition on Saturday morning, bestowing its Audience Choice award to the Irish-language film Róise and Frank.
Juried winners at this year’s festival include Jon-Sesrie Goff’s After Sherman as Best Documentary, and Shawkat Amin Korki’s The Exam (Ezmûn) winning the Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for best international feature film.
Róise and Frank (Mo ghrá buan), directed by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy, centers on Róise (Brid Ni Neachtain), a widow in mourning who befriends a dog who just might be her late husband reincarnated. The pic earlier this week screened at the Dublin Film Festival where it won the Best Ensemble award.
Overall, this year’s in-person festival attracted 200 films from 54 countries along with its usual A-list of panel galas celebrating the year’s best in film – a traditional stop on the awards circuit. This year included Q...
Juried winners at this year’s festival include Jon-Sesrie Goff’s After Sherman as Best Documentary, and Shawkat Amin Korki’s The Exam (Ezmûn) winning the Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for best international feature film.
Róise and Frank (Mo ghrá buan), directed by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy, centers on Róise (Brid Ni Neachtain), a widow in mourning who befriends a dog who just might be her late husband reincarnated. The pic earlier this week screened at the Dublin Film Festival where it won the Best Ensemble award.
Overall, this year’s in-person festival attracted 200 films from 54 countries along with its usual A-list of panel galas celebrating the year’s best in film – a traditional stop on the awards circuit. This year included Q...
- 3/12/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Across a large swathe of West Asia, the year 2021 for the entertainment industry has marked a time of monumental change, as well as fierce resistance.
Saudi Arabia in December held its first major international film festival, following the removal four years ago of a 35-year ban on cinema for religious reasons. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, movie theaters have been shuttered as the country’s Islamic militant guerrillas-turned-rulers decide whether they will allow movie screenings. Taliban authorities have also issued a series of “religious guidelines” under which Afghanistan’s TV networks can’t broadcast soap operas or dramas featuring female actors.
Meanwhile, censors in Arab-speaking nations across most of the region, which is also referred to as the Middle East, continued in 2021 to ban Hollywood films touching on sensitive religious or political issues, sex and homosexuality, such as Marvels’ “Eternals,” featuring the first MCU gay superhero, and “West Side Story” which has...
Saudi Arabia in December held its first major international film festival, following the removal four years ago of a 35-year ban on cinema for religious reasons. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, movie theaters have been shuttered as the country’s Islamic militant guerrillas-turned-rulers decide whether they will allow movie screenings. Taliban authorities have also issued a series of “religious guidelines” under which Afghanistan’s TV networks can’t broadcast soap operas or dramas featuring female actors.
Meanwhile, censors in Arab-speaking nations across most of the region, which is also referred to as the Middle East, continued in 2021 to ban Hollywood films touching on sensitive religious or political issues, sex and homosexuality, such as Marvels’ “Eternals,” featuring the first MCU gay superhero, and “West Side Story” which has...
- 12/20/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th has scooped up the Best Film prize at Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea Film Festival. The title is Georgia’s entry in the Academy Awards international feature category this year.
Elsewhere in the festival’s Yusr Awards, Hamzah K. Jamjoom’s title Rupture was the winner for Best Saudi Film while Egyptian title You Resemble Me from director Dina Amer won the Audience Award.
Meanwhile, the jury prize was awarded to Iranian helmer Panah Panahi’s family road trip effort Hit The Road, which also won the Red Sea’s best cinematic contribution award. That title premiered in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. Murad Abu Eisheh’s Tala’Vision nabbed the Best Short award while Haider Rashid won Best Director for his title Europa.
The festival’s selection included 16 features, 18 short films and 21 virtual reality experiences in a celebration of innovative films...
Elsewhere in the festival’s Yusr Awards, Hamzah K. Jamjoom’s title Rupture was the winner for Best Saudi Film while Egyptian title You Resemble Me from director Dina Amer won the Audience Award.
Meanwhile, the jury prize was awarded to Iranian helmer Panah Panahi’s family road trip effort Hit The Road, which also won the Red Sea’s best cinematic contribution award. That title premiered in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. Murad Abu Eisheh’s Tala’Vision nabbed the Best Short award while Haider Rashid won Best Director for his title Europa.
The festival’s selection included 16 features, 18 short films and 21 virtual reality experiences in a celebration of innovative films...
- 12/14/2021
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Giuseppe Tornatore was jury president for the inaugural competition featuring 16 features.
Georgian director Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th has won best film at the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, unfolding in Jeddah from December 6-15.
It follows a raft of prizes for the New York-set father-son drama that world premiered at Tribeca where it won best international feature, actor and screenplay.
There were 16 features from the Middle East and Africa in the inaugural competition.
Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore presided over the main competition jury with Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis, Morelia...
Georgian director Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th has won best film at the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, unfolding in Jeddah from December 6-15.
It follows a raft of prizes for the New York-set father-son drama that world premiered at Tribeca where it won best international feature, actor and screenplay.
There were 16 features from the Middle East and Africa in the inaugural competition.
Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore presided over the main competition jury with Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis, Morelia...
- 12/13/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Levan Koguashvili’s “Brighton 4th” has won best film at Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea Film Festival, while Hamzah K. Jamjoom’s “Rupture” won best Saudi film.
“Brighton 4th” is Georgia’s entry in the Academy Awards’ international feature category.
Haider Rashid won best director for “Europa” and Adam Ali won best actor for his role in the film. Arawinda Kirana won best actress for her performance in Kamila Andini’s “Yuni,” which is Indonesia’s entry in the Oscars’ international category.
This year’s jury included: president of the Red Sea features competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore; Tunisian actor Hend Sabry; Palestinian-American director, writer, actor, and producer Cherien Dabis; Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel; and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei. The Red Sea shorts competition jury was headed by Egyptian director Marwan Hamed and joined by...
“Brighton 4th” is Georgia’s entry in the Academy Awards’ international feature category.
Haider Rashid won best director for “Europa” and Adam Ali won best actor for his role in the film. Arawinda Kirana won best actress for her performance in Kamila Andini’s “Yuni,” which is Indonesia’s entry in the Oscars’ international category.
This year’s jury included: president of the Red Sea features competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore; Tunisian actor Hend Sabry; Palestinian-American director, writer, actor, and producer Cherien Dabis; Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel; and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei. The Red Sea shorts competition jury was headed by Egyptian director Marwan Hamed and joined by...
- 12/13/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
In November 2015 Paris experienced a wave of terrorist bombings; one, in particular, was wrongly attributed by the media to Hasna Ait Boulahcen, Europe’s supposedly first female suicide bomber. Writer and director Dina Amer – who at the time was a journalist for Vice and reported the story – begins to right her fake news reporting telling the fractured and tragic life of Hasna.
The film opens the first half of the story following Hasna (Lorenza Grimaudo), the child of a reluctant, abusive mother who would rather sleep all day than take care of her children. Hasna’s closest sibling is Sister Miriam (Ilonna Grimaudo), her doppelganger shadow who idolises her older sister. Dressed in the same dress, which Hasna has stolen for her as a present for Miriam’s birthday, Amer begins to show, via various close-up shots, the absolute intimacy of the pair as they wander the streets of Paris playing.
The film opens the first half of the story following Hasna (Lorenza Grimaudo), the child of a reluctant, abusive mother who would rather sleep all day than take care of her children. Hasna’s closest sibling is Sister Miriam (Ilonna Grimaudo), her doppelganger shadow who idolises her older sister. Dressed in the same dress, which Hasna has stolen for her as a present for Miriam’s birthday, Amer begins to show, via various close-up shots, the absolute intimacy of the pair as they wander the streets of Paris playing.
- 12/13/2021
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Riz Ahmed has boarded Egyptian-American director Dina Amer’s “You Resemble Me,” a bold exploration of the roots of Islamic radicalization through the story of Hasna Aït Boulahcen – who in 2015 was wrongly believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber – ahead of the pic’s premiere in the Middle East and North Africa region (Mena).
Amer’s feature debut, which world premiered positively at the Venice Film Festival, is a deeply researched character study of the fragile young Muslim woman who became linked to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris even though she didn’t participate in them. Boulahcen died during an anti-terrorism raid alongside her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was one of the ringleaders of the coordinated assaults that killed 130 people in the French capital, including 90 at the Bataclan theater.
Ahmed’s show of support for the film – which is also executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze...
Amer’s feature debut, which world premiered positively at the Venice Film Festival, is a deeply researched character study of the fragile young Muslim woman who became linked to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris even though she didn’t participate in them. Boulahcen died during an anti-terrorism raid alongside her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was one of the ringleaders of the coordinated assaults that killed 130 people in the French capital, including 90 at the Bataclan theater.
Ahmed’s show of support for the film – which is also executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze...
- 12/4/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The worlds of contemporary geopolitics and narrative independent filmmaking collide in You Resemble Me, a movie that shape-shifts from a first act coming-of-age tale into something searing and provocative, and ripped straight from the headlines. Bold and scattered, it marks a formidable debut for Dina Amer, a first time director who emerges with no shortage of credentials: an award-winning journalist of Egyptian and American extraction (her work has featured in CNN and the New York Times) and associate producer of the Oscar nominated The Square, Amer is perhaps best known for her role as a political correspondent for Vice (also producer here), a job that that took her to the front lines of human-trafficking in Syria, among other precarious situations.
At the start, You Resemble Me plays a bit like Deniz Ergüven’s Mustang. We’re in France this time, but the lighting is just as lovely and natural, the mood just as vital,...
At the start, You Resemble Me plays a bit like Deniz Ergüven’s Mustang. We’re in France this time, but the lighting is just as lovely and natural, the mood just as vital,...
- 9/16/2021
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Dina Amer, an Egyptian-American filmmaker and award-winning journalist, explores the roots of radicalization through a contemporary coming-of-age story in her bold feature debut “You Resemble Me,” which world premieres today at the Venice Film Festival.
“You Resemble Me” delivers a nuanced character study of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, the troubled young woman who became connected to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris and was erroneously believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber. Although she didn’t participate in the attacks, she died during a broad anti-terrorism raid in Saint-Denis alongside her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the ringleaders of the coordinated assaults which killed 130 people in the French capital, including 90 at the Bataclan theater.
Fast-paced and dense, the movie chronicles the chaotic childhood of Aït Boulahcen in an underprivileged suburb of Paris where she lived with her younger sister, with whom she had a strong bond, as well as her dysfunctional mother and brother.
“You Resemble Me” delivers a nuanced character study of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, the troubled young woman who became connected to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris and was erroneously believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber. Although she didn’t participate in the attacks, she died during a broad anti-terrorism raid in Saint-Denis alongside her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the ringleaders of the coordinated assaults which killed 130 people in the French capital, including 90 at the Bataclan theater.
Fast-paced and dense, the movie chronicles the chaotic childhood of Aït Boulahcen in an underprivileged suburb of Paris where she lived with her younger sister, with whom she had a strong bond, as well as her dysfunctional mother and brother.
- 9/8/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Here’s a first clip from You Resemble Me, the debut feature of NY-based Egyptian-American director Dina Amer which has its world premiere in the Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival this week.
Executive Produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze and Alma Har’el, the French-language pic is being sold by CAA for North America and Match Factory for international.
Cultural and intergenerational trauma erupt in this story about two sisters on the outskirts of Paris. After the siblings are torn apart, the eldest, Hasna, struggles to find her identity, leading to a choice that shocks the world.
Director Amer says the film was “created to understand the roots of one woman’s trauma — a journey through layers of disassociation, from the personal and familial to the religious and colonial; a kaleidoscope of splintered identities and fractured dreams. You Resemble Me is an invitation to look beyond our perception of the absolute truth,...
Executive Produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze and Alma Har’el, the French-language pic is being sold by CAA for North America and Match Factory for international.
Cultural and intergenerational trauma erupt in this story about two sisters on the outskirts of Paris. After the siblings are torn apart, the eldest, Hasna, struggles to find her identity, leading to a choice that shocks the world.
Director Amer says the film was “created to understand the roots of one woman’s trauma — a journey through layers of disassociation, from the personal and familial to the religious and colonial; a kaleidoscope of splintered identities and fractured dreams. You Resemble Me is an invitation to look beyond our perception of the absolute truth,...
- 9/7/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
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