Ladj Ly, whose directorial debut feature Les Misérables was nominated for the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, alongside projects from established filmmakers including Terrence Malick and Ken Loach, signed up with CAA ahead of the premiere of his thought provoking drama.

Set in the same Parisian suburb as Victor Hugo's original, Ly's film, inspired by the 2005 Paris riots, takes a look at tensions between neighbourhood residents and police, gaining comparisons to 1995 French film La Haine. A fan of Spike Lee, the Mali-French director, previously known for his web documentaries, hopes to bring widespread attention to conditions in Paris's more deprived suburbs through his work. In 2018 he also opened up a free film school, Kourtrajmé, the name of the collective he co-created with childhood friends, directors Kim Chapiron and Romain Gavras.