You Resemble Me, based on the actual tale of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a woman wrongfully convicted of being France’s first female suicide bomber, has recently released its debut trailer. Hasna’s upbringing, when she was separated from her sister on the outskirts of Paris, would be the beginning point for the film’s exploration of her life. Dina Amer, who worked as an assistant producer on Ruben Ostlund’s The Square, helms her first feature picture as a filmmaker here. Actor Riz Ahmed is one of the film’s executive producers, among industry heavyweights including Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, and Alma Har’el.
Amer and Omar Mullick co-wrote the screenplay. The first part of the video focuses on Hasna and her younger sister as they try to make it on the streets of the Paris suburbs. When life gets too difficult, the sisters seek solace in one other’s company, but this is shattered when they are taken off the streets and placed in separate homes. Hasna develops into a young adult who struggles mightily to forge her own path. Hasna, like many others, adopts false identities at work and in public.
The trailer’s rising level of tension towards the climax suggests a character study with a gradual buildup to a catastrophic climax. Amer, Lorenza Grimaudo, Ilonna Grimaudo, Mouna Soualem, and Sabrina Ouazani are the female leads of You Resemble Me. Amer, together with Elizabeth Woodward and Karim Amer, serves as the film’s producer. The premiere of the film took place at the 2021 Venice Film Festival when it was met with universal acclaim.
After its world debut, You Resemble Me went on to have a successful festival run, where it received several awards. Vice News reporter Amer’s initial involvement in the Hasna Ait Boulahcen affair. Amer interviewed Hasna’s loved ones for a total of 360 hours before he began writing the script for You Resemble Me. Amer told Variety what the film meant to her: “Throughout my life, I’ve lived in the shadow of how the failure to reconcile a Muslim Western identity with such evident contrasts may end in a haunting headline.” This video is a kaleidoscope of fragmented identities and broken hopes, taking the viewer on a trip through several levels of disconnection, from the personal and family to the religious and colonial. On November 4 in New York and on November 11 in Los Angeles, You Resemble Me will have its world premiere.
Synopsis
“The story of two sisters living in the suburbs of Paris explodes with cultural and intergenerational tragedy. Hasna, the eldest, tries to find her place in the world when her family has ripped apart, and her decision surprises everyone. Directed by Dina Amer, the film dissects one of our time’s most pressing problems—sexual assault—through the lens of a personal narrative of love, sisters, and family.”