Young Ahmed

Set in modern day Belgium, 'Young Ahmed' tells the story of the 13-years-old boy Ahmed, with a normal sort of temperament until he starts to be indoctrinated into Islam. Ahmed will have to fight against the worries and passions that take root as he is fed ideals of purity that have been passed down to him from his imam, who denies Ahmed even the change to go and experience normal life as any teenager. The indoctrination that Ahmed suffers leaves him determined to commit a murder in the name of his ideals - and his teacher, part of the Western education system in which Ahmed and his family have operated, is the target. This new objective gives rise to an internal struggle between the person Ahmed always been and the person he is becoming as religious fanaticism and adolescent awakening engage in a dangerous dance.

Created and directed by the Dardenne brothers, 'Young Ahmed', is a relevant, audacious and tremendously complex film that was presented at the Cannes Festival 2019, a festival at which the brothers already have a an impressive repertoire: they have two Golden Palms, one for 'The boy' and the other one for 'Rosetta'. The film chooses unknown faces to star instead of professional actors and, among them, we find the young Idir Ben Addi, who plays Ahmed in the feature film created by the Belgian brothers.