Ladj Ly

Is a French filmmaker who mostly focuses on socially aware documentaries. The racial and social situation in France is unfortunately still similar to that of the early nineties when Mathieu Kassovitz made the truly sensation movie La Haine (a huge influence on Ly).

This is a clip from a documentary he made about the student riots in the Paris suburbs in 2005.

http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/en-uk/creators/ladj-ly/media/93

Ly along with his label/company 'Kourtrajme' are making inventive and relevant films, that are both socially aware and have an understanding and sense of humor to the art of cinema and the power that that approach has. (such as using that Queen song over the images of the riots, adds a tragic sense of humor to the images whilst being socially aware and creating a reaction and conflict within the viewer.)

He is also trying to aid the ever dwindling African film industry, which has for years been underfunded and ignored despite the amazing talent and potentially outstanding resources the continent has for filmmaking. However, this subject deserves a much more in depth reading than I can offer here and now.

Ladj Ly is certainly a filmmaker to look out for and be aware of....you can follow him and his work at The Creators Project including this short doc introducing him...