07/12/2022 - Bérénice Bejo and young actors Leah Aubert, Medina Diarra and Salma Takaline all star in the director’s first feature film, produced by Manny Films and sold by Memento International

(l-r) Producer Philippe Gompel, director Nora El Hourch and actresses Medina Diarra, Salma Takaline and Leah Aubert during the shoot of HLM Pussy (© Alexandre Chavance)

After a four-week film shoot in Sens in October, Nora El Hourch’s debut feature film Sisterhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nora El Hourch
film profile] is now in post-production. Highly remarked upon for her short film Quelques secondes (unveiled in the Directors’ Fortnight in 2015 before screening in Toronto and at the BFI London Film Festival, among other events), the filmmaker has assembled a cast including Bérénice Bejo (awarded the Best Actress trophy in Cannes 2013 for The Past [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], as well as a César in the same category in 2012 and a nomination for the Best Supporting Role Oscar in the same year for The Artist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michel Hazanavicius
film profile]; recently seen in Toronto and Rome via The Hummingbird [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benedetta Porcaroli
film profile]) and youngsters Leah Aubert, Medina Diarra (The African Doctor [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Salma Takaline.

Written by Nora El Hourch herself, together with Eléonore Gurrey (who co-penned The Worst Ones [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Romane Gueret and Lise Akoka
film profile]), the story revolves around Amina, Djeneba and Zineb, three inseparable teens who post a video on social media challenging the person who attacked one of them: a kingpin on a local housing estate. The film explores the consequences of this militant act, as well as issues around social class and identity, and highlights the social and cultural divide which exists between the three friends. They will need to choose between saving their friendship or giving into pressure… Bérénice Bejo plays the lawyer mother of one of the three college girls.

Sisterhood is produced by Philippe Gompel on behalf of Manny Films, in co-production with Moroccan firm La Prod (Lamia Chraibi). Pre-purchased by Amazon Prime Video, the movie also enjoys support from the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, where the film in its entirety was shot, with Maxence Lemonnier in charge of photography. Sales are steered by Memento International while distribution in French cinemas falls to Paname Distribution.

For the record, Manny Films recently co-produced the American movie Cherry by French director Sophie Galibert (awarded the Online Premieres Audience Award at this year’s Tribeca Festival). The French firm are also involved in Titanic Ocean by Greece’s Konstantina Kotzamani, a production which has just received support from Eurimages (read our news), which involves five European countries (Greece, France, Romania, Germany and Spain), and on which filming is due to kick off in the spring.

(Translated from French)