Divines

Divines (2016) is a French drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Houda Benyamina. Fifteen-year-old Dounia (Oulaya Amamra) grows up in a poor suburb of Paris and wants one thing above all: money, standing, the right not to be nobody.

With her best friend Maimouna at her side, she talks her way into working for Rebecca, a dealer the neighborhood respects. Dounia is sharp, reckless and ready to gamble, but the deeper she gets into the trade, the more there is to lose. On the side she keeps watching a young dancer, Djigui, and his world of bodies, music and freedom pulls her another way entirely. She can't have both roads.

Benyamina's debut feature took the Caméra d'Or at Cannes for best first film, and both young leads walked away with Césars. It's shot raw and handheld, with a charge a lot of estate dramas never find. What makes it sing is Amamra and Déborah Lukumuena — their friendship feels alive enough to hurt. If you go for fierce, unglossy films about young people, this one delivers. Stream Divines (2016) online on iFILM.