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If you are a hammer - strike. How's that for a tagline? Today's trailer is for a film called Traitors made by American actor-turned-filmmaker Sean Gullette, who played mathematician Maximillian Cohen in Darren Aronofsky's Pi back in 1998. Gullette writes, produces and directs this film about an all-girl punk rock band from Morocco. Newcomer Chaimae Ben Acha stars as Malika in the film, who befriends Amal played by Soufia Issami as they take on a smuggling job to make some money to keep the band together. The film premiered at the 2013 Venice Film Festival, also playing at the Tribeca, Marrakesh, Dubai, Stockholm and Denver Film Festivals. It actually looks pretty good, there's a lot of heart and soul captured in this. Check it. Here's the first official trailer for Sean Gullette's Traitors, direct from Film Movement's YouTube: Traitors is both written, directed & produced by Sean Gullette. Synopsis: Malika,...

Review by Dana Jung

Traitors screens Friday November 14th at 2pm and Thursday November 20th at 12:15pm as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival. Both screenings are at the Plaza Frontenac Theater. For ticket information for the screening on the 14th, go Here. For ticket information for the screening on the 20th, go Here.

When asked why she doesn’t have a boyfriend, Malika replies, “It’s not my priority.” For Malika, the central character in the new film Traitors, the main focus in her life is her music. We are introduced to Malika’s passion for rock and roll in the movie’s introductory scene, as she practices with her all-female band. “I’m so bored!” she half sings, half screams into the microphone in a fierce expression of punk angst. But boredom is the least of Malika’s problems, because Malika is a young Moroccan...

Sean Gullette, writer and director of Traitors, is known for his many collaborations with Harvard friend and colleague Darren Aronofsky. Playing the lead role and sharing story credit in Aronofsky’s debut feature, Pi, Gullette has since acted in two dozen films, including Requiem for a Dream and Happy Accidents. Now Gullette is bringing his masterful crime drama to Tribeca 2014 as part of a special partnership with Venice Days, where a European film is showcased and selected to have its international premiere at Tff.

Recently, Sound on Sight had a chance to interview Guilette on his thoughts on filmmaking, the impact of strong female leads in today’s cinema, and his views on punk rock music.. For the review of Traitors, check out our coverage of Tribeca 2014.

Sos: What inspired you to make the 2010 short film version into a full-length film?

Sg: After the short screened at the 2011 New York Film Festival,...

Moroccan filmmaker Abdeslam Kelaï makes his feature film directorial debut with the drama Malak - a film that reportedly was the talk of the town in Tangier, when it screened at the last edition of Morocco's National Film Festival in February of this year, where it racked up major awards, including the Jury Prize, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress for its young star Chaimae Ben Acha. The socially-relevant film tackles the plight of single mothers in a very traditional society, which has apparently become something of a phenomenon to be addressed in the country. Malak tells the story of a teenage Moroccan girl who becomes pregnant and her attempts to find a...