From parents of Malian descent, French filmmaker Ladj Ly grew up in Montfermeil, the Parisian suburb that became the setting for his first feature film Les misérables.
Ladj Ly's work is a success in France
This is the film that was a complete success at Cannes, that is nominated to represent its country in the next Oscars, and where Ladj Ly shows what the French media and politicians do not say.
Starring Damien Bonnard, the director reinterprets the work by Victor Hugo showing police brutality looming in poor areas of Paris, away from the wealthy neighborhoods.
According to what Ladj Ly has said, the first time he was the victim of a random search he was only ten years old. Then there would be countless abuses by the security forces against him and his friends, who would soon understand that they were not random but had to do with being black, poor and Muslim.
Today, at 40, the filmmaker finds the creative path to review his own story and raise a strong criticism against a system that is classist and racist in the suburbs, far from the famous emblem of "liberty, equality, fraternity" for everyone.
