Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s Crime Thriller GANGSTA comes to Cinemas and DVD this October from Signature Entertainment
From the up-and-coming directors of “Bad Boys for Life” and rumoured to be attached to “Beverly Hills Cop 4”, a hapless group of underdogs bite off more than they can chew in a wannabe gangster story filled with outrageous humour and chaotic gangland violence alike.
Antwerp. The lives of four dealer friends who want to become real-life made men spins out of control when they steal a shipment of cocaine. They trigger a full-out war between them, an Amsterdam drug lord and the ruthless Colombian cartels.
Directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah (“BLACK”, “Bad Boys for Life”), written by Bram Renders (“Cut Loose”), Adil El Arbi & Bil All Fallah, Kobe van Steenberghe and Hendrik Verthé, Nabil Benyadir with a Soundtrack from Hannes de Maeyer, GANGSTA stars Matteo Simoni (“Marina”), Nora Gharib (“The Team”), Saïd Boumazoughe and Junes Lazaar (“De Bunker”)
Inspired by their experiences as Moroccans growing up in Belgium, El Arbi and Fallah pull no punches in lifting the curtain on not just the criminal underbelly of Antwerp’s drug trade, but also the prejudices ingrained in even those we’re supposed to trust, in this criminally hilarious gangster comedy.
Clutching his Gucci cap like a treasured status symbol, Matteo Simoni’s lead performance imbues wannabe gangster Adamo with an adorable Ali G-esque incompetence and lack of self-awareness that elevates the humour, while also expertly exposing the character’s naivete as a potent heartstring to pull during the film’s more dramatic turns.
With an energetic soundtrack boasting Flemish electro and rap, to a visual style lit with flashes of neon and adorned with tributes to video games of a bygone era, “Gangsta” channels a thematic confidence not unlike “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”.
Showcasing talents both technical and creative with a vibrant story combining rapid-fire comedy with human complexity, while also paying tribute to the gangster films that inspired it, it’s no surprise that El Arbi and Fallah have been tapped to achieve their Hollywood dreams with“Beverly Hills Cop 4” and “Bad Boys for Life”.
Hilarious and exciting in equal measure, “Gangsta” is sure to keep you enthralled even after the credits have started rolling.
GANGSTA IS IN CINEMAS & DIGITAL HD ON OCTOBER 19 AND COMES TO DVD ON OCTOBER 29
About El Arbi & Fallah
Inspired by Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are a pair of Moroccan-born Muslims on a mission - to expand the scope of Belgium cinema. Their second feature film, crime drama “BLACK”, earned the pair international acclaim, and accolades including the Toronto International Film Festival’s Discovery Award.
Taking their cinematic conquest to Hollywood, El Arbi and Fallah are currently attached to direct the long-awaited reunion of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, “Bad Boys for Life” with Sony Pictures, with rumours also circulating around Paramount Pictures’ “Beverly Hills Cop 4”.
About Signature Entertainment
Since 2011, Signature Entertainment have established themselves as one of the leading names in UK film distribution, with over 600 titles released since their inception. Combining a wealth of film expertise with a fresh commercial outlook, their team has led the way with bold and innovative methods of releasing, and top quality productions. Recent releases include Daniel Radcliffe fronted “Jungle”, Sylvester Stallone’s “Escape Plan 2”, and the thrilling “Bad Samaritan”, starring Robert Sheehan and David Tennant, with upcoming Signature Entertainment titles including Charlie Hunnam’s “Papillion”.
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