French Director Mehdi Fikri & Singer Camélia Jordana Talk Collaboration On Police Violence Drama ‘After The Fire’ – Toronto

deadline.com:

French director Mehdi Fikri spent a decade working as a reporter covering social conflict and the issues of police violence and justice in France’s notoriously deprived out-of-town suburbs.

What he learned and saw during this time now feeds into his work as a filmmaker. First feature After The Fire, which debuts in Toronto’s Discovery line-up, follows Malika, a French woman of North African descent, living in an outer suburb of the city of Strasbourg, who seeks justice after her younger brother dies in suspicious circumstances after being stopped by the police. “I was born and grew up in Saint Denis in northern Paris, which has the reputation for being one of the most disadvantaged places in the entire Paris region,” says Fikri.   “The question of police violence has been a political issue in France for years and is something that has touched me personally as a young man growing up where I did and then reporting about the issue for 10 years.” “The story is inspired by reality, but it’s not a documentary.

I wanted it to be a fiction with a strong dramatic quality, with my references being films like Steve McQueen’s Hunger or Pablo Larrain’s No and Jackie, films that deconstruct political events with strong direction.” While the premise is sombre, Fikri gives a positive aspect to the story through the protagonist’s political awakening and emancipation.

At the same time as going up against the police force and justice system, she also finds herself navigating local politics and contradicting the traditions of her family when she demands the burial be delayed, so as to allow for an independent autopsy. “I wanted a story that was political and intimate at the same time… It’s also a story about family loyalty.