Directed by Ubaydah Abu-Usayd and Waheed Khan,
Soumaya tells the true story of a Muslim woman who found
herself wrongfully accused of having links with Jihadists in the wake of
the terrorist attacks on Paris on November 13th.
The film stars Soraya Hachoumi, Sarah Perriez, Khalid Berkouz, Karine Dogliani, Sonya
Melleh, Islem Sehili, Majida Ghomari, Assia Ait Abdelmalek, Benjamin de
Amaral, Julien Lheureux, Atika Taoualit, Faroul Benalleg, Hicham
Ismaili
and Abderrahim Massin Ihia.
Soumaya is in US virtual cinemas from February 11th. A
UK/ROI release has yet to be announced.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The official synopsis reads:
For fourteen years, Soumaya (Soraya Hachoumi), a practicing Muslim and the mother of a young girl, had worked as a manager at a company in charge of security at Charles de Gaulle Airport. But, following the deadly, coordinated terrorist attacks that took place in Paris on the evening of November 13, 2015 -- killing at least 130 and injuring more than 350 -- life changed in an instant for her, as well as for tens of thousands of citizens and immigrants whose lives and beliefs were in the crosshairs following the attacks.After an anonymous complaint, made by an envious co-worker, prompt the police to forcibly enter, search and ransack Soumaya’s apartment, she's unceremoniously fired from her job. Her religious beliefs, the headscarf she never wears to work, and her security badge - allegedly lent to a colleague who is also under investigation -- are all enough to make her a suspect, accused of being linked to jihadist circles. The directors, Kahn and Abu-Usayd, use this scenario to explore the personal, professional and legal battles Soumaya faced in a reeling nation under a state of emergency.Based on a true story, the narrative unfolds as a series of portraits: the worried mother urging her daughter not to make waves; the luggage handler who has rediscovered his faith through his wife who has converted to Islam; the lawyer of immigrant descent, torn between his desire to fully integrate into French society and the injustices he sees all around him; and the imam whose mosque is searched on the basis of slender evidence.
