Movie directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are making a new film inspired by the story of Sanda Dia, the student who died following a student hazing at the Reuzegom student fraternity in 2018. The directors will work with Brussels-based production house Komoko.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to direct film about Sanda Dia, the student who died after Reuzegom hazing
Colin Clapson
Published:
The duo has long been toying with the idea of filming Sanda Dia's story. The screenplay is based on the books ‘They killed my Son’ by Sanda Dia's father, Ousmane Dia, and ‘The Hazing that led to Death’ by journalist Pieter Huyberechts.
‘Like everyone else, we were shocked by what happened to Sanda during those two days,’ Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the directors of “Patsers” and “Bad Boys: Ride or Die”, told VRT. ‘When we were in touch with his father, Papis Dia, we were impressed by his courage, his wisdom and his willpower to fight for justice. This film is a love letter from him to Sanda. We recognise ourselves in Sanda, we recognise our parents in Papis.’
‘It is an intimate story, but at the same time is larger than that: it is a story about Belgium and a story about migration.’
The screenplay is by Raf Njotea, who previously co-wrote the series ‘Dertigers’, the story of the strong relationship between a group of thirty-somethings, and made the podcast ‘Ouder’ (Parent), about his father's life.
Production house Komoko was founded by Nabil Ben Yadir and Marc Goyens. It aims to support ‘bold’ filmmakers. In doing so, it focuses on creating films with social relevance. Sanda Dia's death caused national outrage and sparked the debate on systemic privilege, racism, justice and responsibility, both in Belgium and abroad.