Ladj Ly

Tagline: Ladj Ly, the piercing voice of France's disenfranchised youth.

Born in 1978, Ladj Ly hails from Mali but was raised in the troubled banlieues of Montfermeil, France, where he began his filmmaking career in the late 1990s. Known for his raw and gritty portrayal of French society, Ly's work primarily spans the genres of drama and documentary, with his most celebrated film, "Les Misérables," earning him a Cannes Jury Prize in 2019. His authorial style is characterized by a candid examination of urban life and racial tensions, often drawing from his own experiences growing up in Paris's marginalized suburbs. Ladj Ly, with his camera, passionately reveals the unseen and unheard stories of the city's underbelly, offering a unique and necessary perspective in the world of cinema.