''Black'' is a 2015 Belgian

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

written and directed by

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah Adil El Arbi (born June 30, 1988) and Bilall Fallah (born January 4, 1986) are Belgian film and television directors of Moroccan descent. The duo, collectively billed as Adil & Bilall, are known for writing and directing the feature films ''Ima ...

, based on the books ''Black'' and ''Back'' by Dirk Bracke. The film is centered around two young gangsters who seek love, but are impeded by the rivalry between their gang allegiances. The plot line is influenced by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' and Arthur Laurent's ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' but relocates the story to street gangs in modern day

Brussels, Belgium Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. It premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was screened in the Discovery section.

Plot

Mavela falls in love with Marwan, member of a rival gang. However, her affair with the Moroccan is an intolerable act in the eyes of both gangs, prompting the relationship to stay secret or else be plunged into a brutal war between their rival gangs.

Cast

* Martha Canga Antonio as Mavela * Aboubakr Bensaihi as Marwan * Soufiane Chilah as Nassim * Marine Scandiuzzi as Sindi * Simon Frey as Jonathan * Sanaa Bourrasse as Loubna * Emmanuel Tahon as X * Théo Kabeya as Notorious * Natascha Boyamba as Justelle * Jérémie Zagba as Don * Ashley Ntangu as Doris * Eric Kabongo as Krazy-E

Accolades

Streetcasting

To amplify the harshness and roughness, they chose to work with unknown actors and actresses. Hence the term ''streetcasting'', most of them were picked right off the streets. In cooperation with the casting agency ''Hakuna Casting'', Nabil Mallat and Chafic Amraoui visited Brussels' migrant neighborhoods looking for new talent. Caroline Bastin coached the newfound actors during the auditions. Because of the unique background of the cast, these talents were able to give the film's narrative a special touch.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black 2015 films 2015 crime films Belgian crime films 2010s French-language films 2010s Arabic-language films 2010s Dutch-language films Films based on multiple works of a series Films directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah Films set in Brussels Films shot in Brussels 2015 multilingual films Belgian multilingual films