AMAL
A film by Jawad Rhalib
An idealistic and passionate literature teacher in a suburban Brussels school becomes the target of intense hostility from students and colleagues tied to Islamic extremism when she chooses to help a teenage Muslim girl accused of homosexuality.
Status: Completed
Year: 2023
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium
Language: French
Available subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch
Runtime: 111 minutes
Original title: Amal
Jawad Rhalib is known for his social and committed cinema. His realistic style centers on observation and uncompromising denunciation of the flaws and the political, economic, and religious ravages of our societies. Among his works, fictions like “Madness”, a black comedy that explores the dictatorship of the patriarchy, “Rebellious Girl”, which deals with the revolt of the seasonal workers against the exploitation of the landowners, and documentary features films such as “El Ejido, the Law of Profit”, “The Damned of the Sea”, “When Arabs Danced” and “Fadma: Even Ants Have Wings”.
FILMOGRAPHY
2023 Amal
2020 The Pink Revolution (doc.)
2020 Fadma: Even Ants Have Wings (doc.)
2019 When Arabs Danced (doc.)
2017 Rebellious Girl
2015 Madness
2009 The Damned of the Sea (doc.)
2007 El Ejido, The Law of Profit (doc.)
CAST
Lubna Azabal
Fabrizio Rongione
Catherine Salée
Kenza Benbouchta
Ethelle Gonzalez-Lardued
Johan Heldenberg
Babetida Sadjo
Mehdy Khachachi
CREW
Director: Jawad Rhalib
Screenplay: Jawad Rhalib, David Lambert, Chloé Leonil
Cinematography: Lisa Willame
Editing: Nicolas Rumpl
Sound: Lionel Halflants
Executive Producers: Geneviève Lemal, Ellen de Waele
Production Company: Scope Pictures, Serendipity Films
2023
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | Official Competition · Best Actress
Film Fest Gent | Gala Première
Festival du film francophone d’Albi | Official Competition · Audience Award
Festival International du Film Politique de Liège
Cinemamed – Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival | Revolution Competition
2024
Palm Springs International Film Festival | World Cinema Now · Best of Fest
International Political Film Festival of Carcassonne | Official Competition · Audience Award
Tournai Ramdam Festival · Best Feature Fiction Award
Santo Domingo Global Film Festival | Global View
Bengaluru International Film Festival | Contemporary World Cinema
Mamers en Mars | Feature Film Competition · Audience Award
Uruguay International Film Festival | Human Rights Film Competition
Festival Cinéma d’Alès – Itinérances | Avant-Prèmiere
Macao International Queer Film Festival | World Spectrum
Red Lorry International Film Festival | World Cinema
Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival
Washington DC Film Fest | World View
Sunny Bunny LGBTQIA+ Film Festival | International Competition
Festival International du Cinéma Indépendant de Casablanca | Official Selection
Giffoni Film Festival | GENERATOR +18 Competition
Mediterranean Film Festival Split | Official Competition
Transilvania International Film Festival | Supernova · Young Francophone Jury Award
Galway Film Fleadh | Defender · Generation Jury Award
Busan International Kids and Youth Film Festival | BIKY Youth Plus
Film by the Sea International Film Festival | Youth Jury Competition
Quebec City Film Festival | Official Competition · Jury Award
Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival | Feature Narrative Competition
Rio de Janeiro IFF | Expectations
Film Festival Diritti Umani Lugano | Official Competition
QUEER-Streifen Filmfestival
Vermont International Film Festival
Generation Fleadh
Women’s Worlds Film Festival – Terre des Femmes
Queersicht
Braunschweig International Film Festival | New International Cinema
Exground Filmfest | European Cinema
Castellinaria Festival | Young Competition · Tre Castelli Award for Best Film
French Film Festival UK | Discovery
African Diaspora Film Festival
Lubna Azabal inhabits her character with a rare intensity. A fiery portrait.
Aurore Engelen, Cineuropa
A compelling and heartfelt film that skillfully explores themes of multiculturalism, resilience, and the power of education.
Bita Habibi, Universal Cinema