Ladj Ly

Stéphane has recently joined the Anti-Crime Squad in Montfermeil, in the suburbs of Paris, France, where Victor Hugo set his famed novel “Les Miserables”. Alongside his new colleagues Chris and Gwada – both experienced members of the team – he quickly discovers tensions running high between local gangs. When the trio finds themselves overrun during the course of an arrest, a drone captures the encounter, threatening to expose the reality of everyday life.

Hours after the tragic death of their youngest brother in unexplained circumstances, three siblings have their lives thrown into chaos.

A group of young people leave a disco and bump into a shepherd who is ready to spend his night worshipping Satan.

To escape his life of crime, a Paris drug dealer takes on one last job involving Spain, unhinged gangsters, his longtime crush and his scheming mother.

A local activist and a budding young mayor clash over the best path forward for their impoverished suburb.

Redheaded teen Remy is bullied by his soccer teammates and drawn into fights with his younger sister and mother in their cramped apartment. After a flare-up of domestic violence, he flees home and is tracked down by a bitter guidance counselor, Patrick, also a redhead. Patrick looks upon Remy’s sullen insolence with both sympathy and disdain and decides to toughen him up...

Amin is a young spotter with the gift of the gab. Isabelle, a theater director from Paris, sees an opportunity for Amin to become a soloist in her opera.

A woman earns a living by smuggling exotic animals and illegal goods, developing a mobile app that links users with mystical marabout healers, but one of the user's consultations takes a tragic turn facing a violent backlash.

Ali, a young Moroccan student, arrives to study in France and has to stay with his cousin Mo for a few days before starting university. He will not land in the Paris of his dreams but in the suburb of Clichy-Montfermeil in Seine-Saint-Denis. Disillusionment will give way to beautiful, touching and singular encounters in the heart of a neighborhood with great diversity.

After stealing a gaming console from migrants, Sébastien tries to sell it to Patrick, a good guy. So far, nothing too serious. But when a rapper straight out of jail, a TV host willing to do anything to go viral and click traffickers get involved... Sébastien and Patrick become France’s most wanted bad guys.

2030. In response to climate migration, the government has set up a program to receive refugees. Imani, originally from the sunken island of Sao Tome and who is stateless and traumatized, is recognized as a climate refugee in Seine-Saint-Denis. She joins the Green Fugees program, which will enable her to obtain French nationality provided she overcomes her trauma: will she manage to swim again?

Raise the voice, speak eloquently, construct and argue a discourse. Tools so necessary in life as exciting to build. In Paris, the date of Eloquentia, an oratory contest where young people —not exactly privileged— will measure their strength, is approaching.

Ali is a 14-year-old teenager on the loose. To give him a proper education, his single mother sends him to a madrassa in Mali. When Ali comes back ten years later, he is a completely changed young man in his twenties. He has received a pious religious education and his deep knowledge of Islam makes him the perfect candidate to be the local Imam of his city, despite his young age and the doubts of his mother. His modern views and charisma quickly make him popular amongst his Muslim community, until his will to do good meets his new ambition.

Ladj Ly's Les Misérables, broadcast on ARTE, is reviewed in a one-minute talk by director Valentine Zhang.

In 2005 Lady Ly directed a documentary focusing on the riots that took place in Clichy-Montfermeil. He interviewed a few protagonists and witnesses, using the necessary involvement and distance to understand what was happening.

Twenty Show was the first "user generated film", edited from fictional and real video-blogs. A unique experience initiated on the Internet, a mockumentary that paints a generational portrait of young French people in their twenties.

Max, a photographer, returns to his childhood neighborhood when his past suddenly catches up with him.

JR, a contemporary artist, returns to Clichy-Montfermeil in the suburbs of Paris where his artistic adventure first began 14 years ago with Ladj Ly, his strongest link to the neighborhood. Both decide to create a monumental mural portraying a singular portrait of the inhabitants of this territory, inspired by the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. "The Clichy-Montfermeil Chronicles" not only illustrates how an urban utopia of the 1960’s has transformed into a neighborhood in a state of unrest, but also sheds a light on subjects JR and Ladj Ly covered over a decade ago.

Art and social uproar interweave in this film based on the ballet Les Bosquets of New York City Ballet, inspired by the 2005 French suburb riots. A continuation of JR's Portrait of a Generation, it recalls his experience in the ghetto of Montfermeil using various means of expression and narration: video archives, choreography, and testimony.

An exclusive report on the traffic of cannabis completely shot in the housing area of Clichy Montfermeil, renowned impenetrable zone of no-right.

With a gun at his belt and a truncheon in his hand, Pento has just joined the Seine-Saint-Denis anti-crime brigade. With his teammates, he develops specific methods.

In Easy Pizza Riders, an urban spoof western where people would kill for a pair of silver Reebok, the beloved French youth culture of the time is on full display: sneakers, pizza delivery, fish eye lenses, funk music. Shot when Gavras was only 21 years old, with a modest video camera, the short announces his unique talent for crafting imaginative, stylish, thrilling film sequences and for capturing era-defining moments.

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Acclaimed filmmakers from around the world channel their creativity during COVID-19 isolation with this diverse, genre-spanning collection of short films.