28/02/2024 - Toplined by non-professional actors and actresses, the young Brussels-based director’s debut feature film is produced by Nabil Ben Yadir and Marc Goyens

Director Maja Ajmia Yde Zellama on the set of Têtes Brûlées (© Nohad Sammari)

Last week saw filming wrap in Brussels on Têtes Brûlées, which is young filmmaker Maja Ajmia Yde Zellama’s debut feature film. A graduate of the LUCA School of Art, the latter is actually a film director, a casting director and an event organiser. After meeting Nabil Ben Yadir, who notably directed Les Barons [+see also:
film review
trailer
Interview with director and actress of…
interview: Nabil Ben Yadir
film profile] and Animals [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nabil Ben Yadir
film profile], and who is also a producer, she set about writing her first feature film, which continues along a theme previously tackled in one of her shorts.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Têtes brûlées is an ultra-modern, social, realist drama set in Brussels. Twelve-year-old rap and dance fan Eya enjoys a close relationship with her big brother Younès. She spends her days with him and his group of friends whom she admires, even though they’re all ten or so years older than she is. One day, Younès loses his life under unclear circumstances and Eya is forced to find a way to survive this period of intense and highly codified grief. Thanks to her creativity, her resilient spirit, and her and her brother’s entourage, she finds a way of accepting this new reality. The film paints an intimist portrait of the interplay between a young teenage girl and young adult men as they journey through sadness, vulnerability and solidarity.

"It’s a film which shines a light on how loss is experienced in a Maghrebi community”, the director explained to Cineuropa, “and notably how the home in question is always open, how every member of the community does everything they can to alleviate the family’s pain. I’ve talked a lot about how my film explores grief, but it’s actually more focused on resilience and how we come out of difficult situations with even more strength and love. It also explores the issue of masculinity. There are lots of men around Eya and we see how they react to their suffering. But society’s dictates can make it hard for men to experience their emotions. I get the impression that grief is perhaps the only window for heterosexual men to openly express their emotions. In fact, I wanted to show grief as a sociable moment in time".

The cast is essentially composed of non-professional actors and actresses enjoying their first roles. Heading up cinematography is Director of Photography Grimm Vanderkerckhove, who’s mostly known for collaborating with Bas Devos on Ghost Tropic [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bas Devos
film profile] and Here [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bas Devos
film profile].

Têtes Brûlées is produced by Nabil Ben Yadir and Marc Goyens, who are on the verge of creating a new firm, with the support of the Vlaams Audiovisuel Fonds, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Film and Audiovisual Centre, RTBF, VOO BeTV, screen.brussels and the New Dawn fund.

(Translated from French)