The creators of La cité Rose are back behind the camera with Mon frère. They no longer focus only on the city but on youth and the violence that can accompany it regardless of our social background. Released in 2019, this film is currently available on the OCS platform.
Synopsis of the movie My Brother
Teddy, a young teenager, finds himself overnight in a CEF (Closed Educational Center). All minors spend 6 months there before their trial. We do not know why Teddy, seemingly very quiet, is placed in this center. Flashbacks help us understand his behavior and gradually reveal the reason for his confinement. So we follow Teddy in this CEF. Through his eyes, we can observe the living conditions of these young people, delinquent or not, who must learn in spite of themselves to live together. 
How did the project come about?
It all started with the book A fists nommé which deals with psychoboxing. This practice is used to communicate with individuals who have difficulty opening up. They usually release their speech through boxing. Julien Abraham, director, and Sadia Diawara, co-producer, then embarked on endless research to make the film as realistic as possible. They visited CEFs and met with educators. It took them a year of research to be able to finalize the writing phase. The result is such that most of the quarrels come from concrete stories. The project was officially made possible thanks to the Public Health Establishment of Ville Evrard which offered a "house" as a plateau office. It was indeed unthinkable to shoot in a real CEF and to deprive these young people of housing for the needs of the film. In an educational approach, the director and the co-producer allowed teenagers placed in CEF to attend the filming in order to discover the different professions of cinema. The latter were also struck by the realism of certain scenes. 
A tailor-made cast
The production team has chosen to offer the casting to many socio-educational structures. Always in a desire to stick to reality, the interpreter of Papou, Almany Kanouté, is also an educator in life. He was therefore able to bring a professional look at the character. According to him, many similar films are not realistic enough. That is why he tried to do justice to his profession through My brother. He is also a co-writer and has been inspired by all the young people he has met in his career. For the lead role, on the other hand, MHD exactly matched Julien and Sadia's search criteria. So they offered him the scenario, which he immediately accepted. Finally, to interpret the psychologist, Julien chose Aïssa Maïga knowing that she practiced boxing.
Too much violence
How to fight violence when you are invaded by it? CEFs, structures created to deal with incarceration, are supposed to be beneficial to young people. And yet, they often miss their chance and struggle to contain their hatred. Beatings and insults are commonplace. For them, their life sounds like an inevitability. This is where educators, psychologists and all those who believe in them come in. They accompany them and try to understand them. Thanks to My Brother, their profession is put forward with a certain humility since the film does not revolve around them. Almany admits, however, that it is a complex profession. According to him, some young people enter these centres when they are innocent and end up being influenced. Violence being very present, they finally leave broken and become really delinquents. In conclusion, this film plunges us into the heart of a reality unknown to the general public. It makes us understand that it is very difficult to protect teenagers who do not admit any authority.
