Brussels' director duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are making a film inspired by the story of Sanda Dia, the Belgian student who died in 2018 after an initiation ritual for the Reuzegom student association.
The duo had been considering the idea of filming Sanda Dia's story for some time. The scenario is based on two books: 'Ze hebben mijn zoon vermoord' ("They murdered my son") by Ousmane Dia, Sanda's father, and 'De doop die leidde tot de dood' ("The hazing ritual that led to death") by journalist Pieter Huyberechts.
"Like everyone else, we were in shock about what happened to Sanda during those two days of the hazing ritual," said Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the directors of films including 'Patsers' and 'Bad Boys for life'.
Directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi the premiere of their film 'Rebel'. Credit: Belga
A love letter to Sanda
"When we got in touch with his father, 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 him."
They are joining forces with the Brussels production company Komoko, which was founded by Nabil Ben Yadir and Marc Goyens and aims to support daring filmmakers. It focuses on creating socially relevant films.
The death of Sanda Dia caused a national outrage and sparked many debates about systemic privilege, racism, justice and responsibility, both in Belgium and beyond.
