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RED SNAKE: Female Kurdish Warriors Take The Fight To ISIS For Sierra/Affinity At Cannes

Lee B. Golden III
Cannes has been pretty prolific this week with news related to all-female line-ups – a notable fact for those keeping up with the Kinberg/Chastain partnership on upcoming spy thriller, 355.
Separately, there’s another in the midst courtesy of debut feature director Caroline Fourest whose European co-production, Red Snake, is currently in production in Morocco. Sierra/Affinity has announced its commencement of international sales for the action thriller at the Cannes Film Market, hailing from Metropolitan Film in association with France 2 Cinema and Eagle Pictures Italy.

Inspired by true events, RED SNAKE follows the story of Zara, a young Yazidi woman who is kidnapped and held captive by a ruthless commander. When she finally escapes, she joins a powerful group of female warriors determined to fight back. Although they hail from different backgrounds, the women all share a troubled past that fuels their urge to accomplish one goal: bringing down ISIS.

Elsa Keslassy first broke the news at Variety back in January about the film centered on a band or female Kurdish warriors from varying backgrounds.

Caroline Fourest
Fourest, an activist, writer, documentarian, feminist champion and recipient of the Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), was expressedly inspired to develop the thriller reportedly following the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris in January of 2015, and having met and spoken with a number of Yazidi survivors and Kurdish warriors, Peshmergas (members of the armed forces in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish-controlled region) or from the guerilla.

“I was inspired by all these brave women from different parts of the world who have voluntarily joined the Kurdish resistance against Isis, and how these sisters of combat are rejecting the status of victims and fighting back,” Fourest said. 

“It’s a story about the power of women which I think will strike a chord in our society – these female fighters won the last worldwide war for us,”


Red Snake is led by an all-female powerhouse cast led by Dilan Gwyn (Beyond, Dracula Untold), César Award Winner Camelia Jordana (Le Brio), César Award Nominee Amira Casar and Esther Garrel (Call Me By Your Name), David di Donatello Award winner Maya Sansa (Italian Romance), Noush Skaugen (The Conjuring 2), Nanna Blondell (Hassel) and Mark Ryder (Borgia).  The film is being shot in English, French, Kurdish and Arabic.
Samuel Hadida, best known for producing hits like Christoph Gans’ Crying Freeman and Brotherhood Of The Wolf, and the blockbuster Resident Evil film franchise, is producing via his Davis Films label, as well as Leo Maidenberg and Jad Ben Ammar.
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