For My Country (Ülkem İçin)

"For My Country" (original title: Pour la France) is a 2022 French-Taiwanese drama film. Directed by Rachid Hami, who also co-wrote the screenplay, it is freely inspired by the life of the director's brother Jallal Hami, who died in 2012 during an initiation ritual at the Saint-Cyr military academy. The film is in French.

The story follows Ismaël, the estranged brother of officer cadet Aïssa Saïdi, who dies during a ceremony at Saint-Cyr, one of France's leading military schools. Thrown into a legal battle over his brother's funeral, Ismaël confronts questions of grief, institutional responsibility and belonging. Karim Leklou stars, with Shaïn Boumedine as Aïssa; the cast also includes Lubna Azabal, Samir Guesmi, Laurent Lafitte, Vivian Sung and Lyes Salem. The film premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section.