🎬 Reel/Real – Paris/Marseille

About the Program

Screening of three films, followed by a live discussion with filmmakers and invited guests: Ladj Ly, Gael Barboza, Julio Iborra, Marie Antonelle Joubert, Director of the Kourtrajmé School - Marseille, founded by Ladj Ly. Discussion moderated by Rokhaya Diallo and Trica Keaton. 

Le Gyptis Cinema – Marseille, France | 136 Rue Loubon, Marseille 3e | Tuesday, June 3, 2025, 18h30

The program is convened by Trica Keaton (African and African American Studies, Dartmouth College/IMéRA), Marie-Pierre Ulloa (Stanford University/IMéRA), Marie Larose (French Department, Dartmouth College), Lucas Hollister (French Department, Dartmouth College), and yasser elhariry (French Department, Dartmouth College).

The program is sponsored by the Department of African and African American Studies at Dartmouth, the Leslie Center for the Humanities, the Institute for Black Intellectual and Cultural Life (IBICL), the Office of the Associate Dean of International and Interdisciplinary Studies at Dartmouth, Department of Film and Media Studies at Dartmouth, Department of French and Italian at Dartmouth, Iméra - Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) of Aix-Marseille University, The French Institute for Advanced Study, Alban CORBIER-LABASSE (Directeur général, La Friche la Belle de Mai), FIAS fellowship Programme, supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement n°945408, and Émile Abinal

Thanks to Laila Tahhar, productrice, Lyly Films; Eugénie Sonder, Lyly Films; Alban Corbier-Labasse, directeur général, La Friche la Belle de Mai; Juliette Grimont, programmation, Cinéma Le Gyptis / La Friche la Belle de Mai; Nicolás Roman Borre, chargé de projet, Cinéma Le Gyptis / La Friche la Belle de Mai; Fanny Trifilieff, Iméra; Roger Arnold, AAAS, Dartmouth; Dennis Grady, Dartmouth; Muhammet Pakdil, Dartmouth; Enrico Donaggio; Emmanuel Girard-Reydet; Marie-Pierre Ulloa; Gabriella Crocco; Constance Moreteau; Fanney Trifilieff; Charlène Martin; Solenne Bruhl; Raymond Nils, and all our wonderful 2024-2025 Fellows 

Film Screenings 

F**K la Sororité (short film, 2024, 11 min 55 sec) by Gael Barboza (African Dream Productions – co-produced with Kourtrajmé Marseille) – the only French film selected for the prestigious HBO Urbanworld Festival in New York in 2024.

Synopsis: Cécile and Meggy, two actresses, are auditioning for the same role—that of a "woman of color." With so few roles available for women like them, will they stand in solidarity? Or will they end up saying: "F**K sisterhood"?

Mikrobe (feature film, 20-minute excerpt) by Julio Iborra (Drive by Productions)

Synopsis: "Mikrobe," age 7, lives with his young mother in the gritty heart of Marseille. One day, he decides to run away from home and sneak aboard a luxury cruise ship about to sail around the world. Over the course of one unforgettable night searching for the ship, he crosses paths with people who will forever change his life.

Bâtiment 5 (2023, 1hr 45 min) by Ladj Ly (SRAB Films, LyLy Films, France 2 Cinéma)

Synopsis: Haby, a young woman deeply engaged in her local community, discovers a new redevelopment plan for the neighborhood where she grew up. Quietly pushed through by Pierre Forges—a young pediatrician turned mayor—the plan calls for the demolition of the building where she was raised. With her loved ones by her side, Haby leads a determined fight against city hall and its grand ambitions to save Building 5.

Folllwing the screening a live discussion with filmmakers and invited guests will take place.  Ladj Ly, Gael Barboza, Julio Iborra, Marie Joubart will join a conversation moderated by Rokhaya Diallo and Trica Keaton.

About the Speakers 

Ladj Ly, originally from Montfermeil (Seine-Saint-Denis), began his career within the Kourtrajmé collective, founded in 1995 by his childhood friends Kim Chapiron and Romain Gavras. He was first introduced to cinema as an actor, then as a director with his debut short film MONTFERMEIL LES BOSQUETS in 1997.  In parallel, he spent years creating making-ofs (behind-the-scenes) films, reflecting his growing interest in the filmmaking process.

In 2004, he co-wrote the documentary 28 MILLIMETERS with photographer JR, who displayed large-format portraits on the walls of Clichy, Montfermeil, and Paris. Following the 2005 uprisings triggered by the deaths of two teenagers, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré, in an electrical substation in Clichy-sous-Bois, Ladj Ly decided to document his neighborhood for a full year. The result was 2007 film was the documentary 365 DAYS IN CLICHY-MONTFERMEIL. He continued his documentary work with 365 DAYS IN MALI in 2014, a powerful account of a region in turmoil, where militias and Tuareg groups were preparing for war.

In 2017, he directed the short film LES MISÉRABLES, which was nominated for a César Award in 2018 and won a prize at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival. That same year, he co-directed the documentary SPEAK UP (À VOIX HAUTE) with Stéphane de Freitas, which was also nominated for a César. In 2019, he presented his first feature film LES MISÉRABLES, selected in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. That year, the film won the Jury Prize, earned four Césars (Audience Award, Best Film, Most Promising Actor, Best Editing), and received a nomination for Best International Feature Film at the 2020 Academy Awards. In 2018, he also founded the Kourtrajmé schools in Montfermeil and Marseille in 2020, as part of his commitment to nurturing new talent and a new generation of filmmakers.

Ladj Ly returned in 2023 with BATIMENT 5, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He is currently developing his third feature: a historical epic centered on Thomas-Alexandre Dumas—the father of writer Alexandre Dumas—starring Omar Sy, Vincent Cassel, François Civil, and Théo Christine.

Rokhaya Diallo is an award-winning French journalist, author, and filmmaker known for her work on human rights. She is a columnist for The Washington Post and The Guardian, and a researcher at Georgetown University's Gender+Justice Initiative. She has authored over ten books and graphic novels and directed several documentaries. Alongside Grace Ly, she co-created Kiffe Ta Race, the first French-language podcast dedicated to racial issues—ranked among Apple's top podcasts. In 2022, she founded W.O.R.D., the first public-speaking school dedicated to democratizing access to public discourse.

Originally from Brazil and now based in Valence, Gael Barboza graduated from the Kourtrajmé Marseille school in 2021. As a writer-director, his first narrative short film, F**K La Sororité, was the only French selection at the 2024 HBO Urbanworld Festival in New York. His second short, Tchip—a 16-minute single take that unfolds amid the chaos of a film shoot—received support from the CNC (National Centre for Cinema) and is set to begin its festival run this summer. Barboza wrote, directed, and acted in the film. Currently, he is developing his first feature-length fiction film, produced by The Film. He has also published several poetry collections and two novels, many of which explore the experience of being Black in France.

Born in 1998 in Marseille, Julio Iborra began his career directing rap music videos for local artists before founding Drive by Productions in 2017 to pursue his own projects. Through his films, he captures the raw soul of Marseille's northern neighborhoods, weaving together social realism, poetry, and elements of fantasy. With a bold and honest gaze, Julio aims to craft powerful narratives that question the world we live in today.

Marie Antonelle Joubert, a native of Provence, is the co-founder and director of the Kourtrajmé Marseille school (since 2020). Trained in social sciences, she spent 25 years working with nonprofits in France, the Middle East, and Latin America on democracy and human rights. She has also worked as a fixer and production coordinator on numerous documentaries and reports. Previously production director at Kourtrajmé Productions and Les Productions des Vendredis, she has helped lead initiatives promoting more inclusive representation in French media… with limited success.

🎬 Reel / Real will continue with screenings and disucssion in Fall 2025 on campus at Dartmouth College.