Shéhérazade
Zach is a teenager in Marseille, just out of jail. Unable to fit in with his family or former friends, he drifts toward the local prostitution scene, getting involved with (and eventually living off ) his feisty girlfriend, Shéhérazade. But Zach’s inability to truly commit to her and assume responsibility leads to violent, abusive consequences on the street, and the need for him to speak up for her in court. Can Zach alter his deepest, most ingrained values and assumptions? In an immediate, immersive manner that recalls the films of Robert Guédiguian (for the Marseille setting) and the Dardennes (for the way the camera sticks close to the characters, whether still or in motion), SHÉHÉRAZADE at first appears to belong squarely (and nobly) within the camp of realistic, social issue cinema. As it develops, however, it deftly steers itself into pockets of genre cinema (crime, street gangs, prison) and lyrical, romantic drama. Ultimately, it is a film about gender roles within a downtrodden underclass: Zach’s core problem is that he cannot respect “whores” (or transsexuals) as real “women”, even when he is love with one – and until he can transcend that prejudice he’s going nowhere fast. (Adrian Martin)
- Dylan Robert - Zachary
- Kenza Fortas - Shéhérazade
- Idir Azougli - Ryad
- Lisa Amedjout - Sabrina
- Kader Benchoudar - Mehdi
- Nabila Ait Amer - Sara
- Nabila Bounad - Souraya
- Sofia Bent - Zelda
- Osman Hrustic - Cheyenne
- Abdellah Khoulalene - Jordi
- Jean-Bernard Marlin
- Catherine Paillé
- Jonathan Ricquebourg
- Pierre Bariaud
- Samuel Aïchoun
- Cédric Deloche
- Charlotte Butrak
- Nicolas Desmaison
- Léa Philippon
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