They’ve Gotta Have It: Strand Releasing Add May Allah Bless France! to Future Bling

Strand Releasing’s healthy appetite for French cinema is made once again apparent with the pick-up of Abd Al Malik’s TIFF-preemed, double nominated (Best First Feature and Most Promising Actor) Césars debut. Starring Marc Zinga and Sabrina Ouazani (who got her big break in acting in Abdellatif Kechiche’s 2003’s Games of Love and Chance) , May Allah Bless France! will be released theatrically in the fall and will receive a showing (Q&A with the director) at the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2015.

Gist: The true story of a French teenager rising out from the underprivileged suburbs through love, education and rap music. Regis is a culturally gifted boy who dreams of success for his rap band through hard work and loyalty, but he must accept the drug money for the sake of his project. Discovering Islam and love, he bears with the harsh loss and paybacks of delinquency, until he finds alone the strength to express himself through rap music and slam-poetry – and ultimately becomes a major artist of the French music scene.

Worth Noting: This was a winner of Toronto Int. Film Fest’s Fipresci Discovery section prize.

Do We Care?: Receiving comparisons to seminal films such as Boyz n the Hood and La Haine, despite the mixed reviews we’re curious about this first time effort.