Rabia screening and panel discussion for the Voilah French Film Festival 2024

Preview of the film RABIA in Singapore - Release in France in December 2024

Director: Mareike Engelhardt

With: Megan Northam, Lubna Azabal, Natacha Krief

Rating: R21

Jessica, a young 19-year-old French woman, leaves for Syria to join Daesh, motivated by the hope of a new life. Upon her arrival in Raqqa, she joins a home for future wives of fighters, where she quickly finds herself under the influence of Madame, the charismatic director who controls the place with an iron fist. In this hostile environment, Jessica, renamed Rabia, becomes Madame's assistant. Their master-slave relationship pushes Rabia to go beyond her convictions, to the point of no longer supporting the monster that the system has made of her...

In competition at the Angoulême Festival 2024, Mareike Engelhardt's first feature film will not leave you indifferent. Led by a stunning and impressive performance by rising actress Megan Northman, this film tackles difficult subjects like who you are when everything falls apart and the cruelty you are willing to inflict to find your place. What path will Rabia choose once she realizes the violence she has suffered and inflicted? The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with women's rights experts Sadhana Rai and Chloé Vialard

94 min
In French and Arabic with English subtitles
Drama, Thriller
France, Germany, Belgium, 2024
Presented by: Alliance Francaise de Singapour

Panel discussion speakers:

Chloé Vialard
Chloé Vialard is a lawyer at the French Court and a foreign lawyer at the international arbitration firm Shearman & Sterling in Singapore, where she has worked since 2012.
She advocates for women's rights and co-founded the Singapore France Support Centre for women victims of violence. In 2023, she was recognized as a Rising Talent winner by the Women's Forum and, in 2024, received the "Trophées des Français de l'Étranger" award for social responsibility. In addition, she is co-chair of the Women in Business Committee at the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

Sadhana Rai
Sadhana leads the Advocacy Department at Pro Bono SG, where she manages the criminal, family and community legal aid programs. She leads a team providing pro bono legal assistance to socially excluded individuals and transitioned from commercial lawyer to Pro Bono SG in 2015, becoming Advocacy Manager in 2021.
In 2022, she was selected for the National Council of Social Service’s 40-Under-40 program, which aims to empower young social service leaders. In 2023, she was awarded the Joseph Grimberg Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. Sadhana also contributes to advocacy training with the Law Society and sits on the SPCA Board of Directors.