Syrine Boulanouar

A French director and screenwriter, Syrine Boulanouar began in documentary, co-directing Ballon sur bitume in 2016, a portrait of French street football shot just as players it had shaped, Riyad Mahrez and Ousmane Dembélé among them, were breaking into the international game. He returned to youth and music culture in 2019 with Les Étoiles vagabondes, made alongside the rapper Nekfeu. He now makes his fiction feature debut with Bombonera, following a small-time hustler and the fourteen-year-old street footballer he takes under his wing. Shot in five-a-side to stay close to the ball, the film already carries a Netflix pre-buy.