L'amour c'est surcoté

Mourad Winter had known Hakim Jemili for a decade before the movie. He realized Jemili's acting potential after seeing him in A Good Doctor (2019). They are both from the same generation, as well as from the same sociocultural background, and they understand each other. Jemili had already read Winter's book, and when they met to talk about the movie, Jemili told Winter that he saw a lot of himself in Anis' character.

When Anis and his friends are watching the soccer game at his place, you can see part of the progress bar at the bottom of the TV screen, revealing that the game they're watching is not live, it's a video file they're playing.

References The Lion King (1994)