Unquestionably, the best film I recommended to be part of this year’s Lakefront Film Festival was Dina Amer’s incredible drama, You Resemble Me. And apparently, neither I nor the other associates were wrong, as the film has earned the backing of producers Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, and Riz Ahmed.
The film marks the directorial debut of award-winning Vice journalist Dina Amer. The story is based on the real-life account of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a 26-year-old Frenchwoman who suddenly went from living her own life to adopting the strict dress and beliefs of a Jihadist. In November 2015 she was accused of being Europe’s first suicide bomber after a series of coordinated terrorist attacks throughout Paris left 130 people dead. After she was killed in a controversial police raid, an autopsy would prove that Boulahcen was not the bomber.
Amer’s film will center on Boulahcen’s troubled upbringing, being ex-communicated by her family, left to survive on the streets, and finally the traumatic separation from her sister.
Playing Hasna throughout the years are Lorenza Grimaudo, Mouna Soualem, and Sabrina Ouazani.
This is an incredible film I can’t wait for others to see. You Resemble Me will open in New York on November 4th, followed by Los Angeles a week later and eventual rollout nationally.
