Distributor La Vingt-Cinquième Heure has acquired the French rights to Egyptian-American director Dina Amer ’s politically sensitive drama “ You Resemble Me .” The film tells the story of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, who in 2015 was wrongly believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber. The film is a deeply researched character study of the 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. In a strong show of support, revered French auteur Claire Denis (“High Life”) is boarding “You Resemble Me” as an executive producer. Denis will also participate in onstage conversations with Amer during the film’s French theatrical run this fall.
“You Resemble Me,” which world premiered positively at the 2021 Venice Film Festival and went on to win a slew of awards on the festival circuit, is also executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Riz Ahmed and Alma Har’el. The “You Resemble Me” release in France will provide a basis for “talkback sessions” that aim “to raise awareness of the issue of prevention of radicalization,” a statement said. Last year, a verdict was reached in the highly emotional, nearly 10-month so-called “trial of th.
