Page - 208 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/02

Dardennes offer a rich mosaic of Muslim faith as various skin tones and national backgrounds come together for a parent meeting about a new Arabic class Inès wants to teach the youth. For the Dardennes, the 21st-century face of Islam cannot be reduced to stereotypes of Middle Eastern terrorists, but rather must be viewed via the Levinasian transcendent face of the Other. In the Cannes press conference, I was able to ask the Dardennes about their motivation for finally addressing religion in one of their films.3 Luc responded that it felt timely in a post-9/11 world, and that such fanaticism is not restricted to Europe or religion – we see evidence in Sri Lanka, America, Israel, etc., as well as throughout religious history. The brothers were interested in how and why religion – what Luc called a work of “imagination” – could lead to such violence, and how the imagination might be reformed and redeemed. The Dardennes do not presume to be experts about Islam, so they did extensive research and sought lots of input for their portrayal of religion, offering various viewpoints within the film itself. In this, Le Jeune Ahmed boldly and effectively raises com- plex ethical, religious and political questions without giving simple answers, in- spiring hope for fruitful conversations about religion in the public sphere. Atlantique (Atlantics, Mati Diop, FR/SN 2019) also shares in this conflict of interpretations, albeit without the strict extremist perspective. Diop was the first black woman to have a film in competition at Cannes, and Atlantique (winner of the Grand Prix) is a fever dream of a ghost story, combining magical realism with conventional romance. The film is set in the Senegalese city of Dakar, and the environment is a bricolage of traditions and modernity, urban decay and natural beauty. A group of young construction workers decide to depart for a better life in Spain, quietly slipping away in the night to navigate the ocean currents. One of 3 The Cannes press conference with the Dardennes is available online: https://youtu.be/ VWUzrfnm1lI [accessed 3 June 2019]. My question for the Dardennes begins at 20:30. Fig. 5: Cannes Press Conference Le Jeune Ahmed. Personal photo: Joel Mayward, 21 May 2019. 208 | Joel Mayward www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 204–213