Amal

Jawad Rhalib's 2023 Belgian film follows Amal, a literature teacher at a suburban school in Brussels. A girl in her class is targeted by other students for being gay. Amal decides to defend her and quickly becomes a target herself. The film is about radicalisation in a school and the helplessness of teachers facing it. The administration ignores the problem, some colleagues blame Amal and parents apply pressure. The narrative builds that encirclement step by step. Lubna Azabal's performance carries the film. What drew most debate is that its handling of the subject stays one-directional in places; most of the Muslim students are drawn as a source of threat, which became a point of criticism. Who it's for: those who like social drama set in schools. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a balanced treatment of the subject; the film argues an explicit position and gives no counter-voice.