If you think you know filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah because they made Bad Boys for Life and the shelved Batgirl movie, think again. The duo also completed an acclaimed Cannes drama, Rebel, that is due to hit theaters later this year, and the first trailer for it has arrived.
El Arbi and Fallah wrote and directed Rebel, which centers on a Muslim family’s efforts to save their youngest son from radicalization.
Aboubakr Bensaihi, Lubna Azabal, Amir El Arbi, Tara Abboud, and Younes Bouab lead the cast. Kevin Meul and Jan van Dyck joined in on the screenplay.
It’s clear that El Arbi and Fallah are refusing to be pigeonholed as filmmakers, tackling a broad range of subjects in different styles.
Here’s the synopsis: “Rebel,” the dazzling and audacious new film from Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life, Batgirl), tells the story of Kamal (Aboubakr Bensaihi), who resolves to change his life for the better, leaving Belgium to help war victims in Syria. But, having arrived, he is forced to join a militia and is left stranded in Raqqa. Back home, his younger brother Nassim (Amir El Arbi) quickly becomes easy prey for radical recruiters, who promise to reunite him with his brother. Their mother, Leila (Lubna Azabal), fights to protect the only thing she has left: her youngest son.
Rebel opens in theaters on September 15th.