An unsuspecting teacher deceives his son: Roshdi Zemi is the director, to see him in the cinema

Directed by Chad Chenuga (Full Power), The Principal introduces Sabri Lahlali, interpreted by Roschdy Zem. The latter is the deputy principal of the neighborhood college.

She is willing to do anything to ensure that her son, who is about to receive a patent, has a perfect school record. But he doesn’t know where his work will lead him.

Inspired by a true story

To build the director’s story, Chad Chenuga freely used a true story. The director presented his previous film, in full force, in a film club where the community consisted mainly of teachers.

Among them, two history teachers told the principal that they were working under the orders of an atypical deputy principal who betrayed his position: he lied to his son, who was issuing a patent using a revised book. But, as has been well pointed out, the academy covered up the matter and he was even appointed as the principal of another college.

The filmmaker added his personal experience to the script written in collaboration with Christine Paillard. Chad Chenuga has a brother like Sabre, Said, who has the same mental weakness.

“When we go to our mother’s grave as Sabri and Saeed, sometimes we don’t even act or not. These are the moments that bring us back to our childhood and I used it for the film. My relationship with my brother brought a lot to the character. I told my brother that Saeed was him and not But deep down there is a lot.The director explains.

ROSCHDY ZEM is generally good in all relationships

Chad Chenuga picked up Roshdi Zem, César for Best Actor for Roubaix, une lumière, for playing the film’s main character, Sabre. He wanted the camera to look at the director’s character and capture something incomprehensible about him that he himself does not know.

“We did it in advance. We try to see what the scene is saying and how we capture it. Then sometimes when we go to the set, things can change a lot, we do it differently to be as fair as possible. characters. The acting of the actors can also change the staging. You have to trust the performers, their physical presence.”– says the film director.

The latter takes as an example a fight scene, a key moment in a feature film. This was resolved without calling a stuntman to Roshdi Zem. According to Chad Chenuga, the farewell scene was exciting to film.

“Sabri is in trouble with the academy. She has to lie because she’s surrounded by professors. But she’s bad, so her voice perception is changed. I say it in a different voice and it blurs. The voice is still cinema.”The director explains.

Note that The Principal was filmed in Mulhouse and its suburbs during a prison in 2020. The film was released in theaters on May 10, 2023.