By Abdourahman Waberi
Released only a week ago, ‘Intouchables’ the film (by Eric Toledano & Olivier Nakache, France, length: 1h52min) is having the most amazing success in France since Harry Potter hit. Supported by a duo of fantastic actors: François Cluzet playing Philippe (a while billionnaire paralyzed in a wheelchair) and Omar Sy as Driss (his young out-of-the banlieue black help).  Here‘s a link to the trailer (in French). More than 2.5 millions viewers have already hailed that sweet and sour comedy. Omar Sy (with his stand up comedy partner Fred) has was discovered by the Canal Plus cable channel, just like the actor and humorist Jamel Debbouze. Omar Sy, Jamel Debbouze, rapper La Fouine and Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka all have one thing in common: they were born and raised at Trappes, a poor city not far from Versailles. Big Omar (he’s 6.3 feet and even richer in talent and funnier ) is rumoured to get a César Award for Best Actor in February 2012. And France will surely boast of at least one Black movie icon.

Photo Credit: Prakash Topsy.

Further Reading

Kagame’s hidden war

Rwanda’s military deployments in Mozambique and its shadowy ties to M23 rebels in eastern Congo are not isolated interventions, rather part of a broader geopolitical strategy to expand its regional influence.

After the coups

Without institutional foundations or credible partners, the Alliance of Sahel States risks becoming the latest failed experiment in regional integration.

Whose game is remembered?

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations opens in Morocco amid growing calls to preserve the stories, players, and legacy of the women who built the game—before they’re lost to erasure and algorithm alike.

Sovereignty or supremacy?

As far-right politics gain traction across the globe, some South Africans are embracing Trumpism not out of policy conviction but out of a deeper, more troubling identification.

From Cape To Cairo

When two Africans—one from the south, the other from the north—set out to cross the continent, they raised the question: how easy is it for an African to move in their own land?