Profile (2018 film)
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- Timur Bekmambetov
- Britt Poulton
- Olga Kharina
by Anna Erelle
- Timur Bekmambetov
- Olga Kharina
| Profile | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Timur Bekmambetov |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | In the Skin of a Jihadist by Anna Erelle |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Edited by | Andrey Shugaev |
| Music by | Andy Ross |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Focus Features |
Release dates |
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Running time | 106 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.3 million[2] |
| Box office | $1.9 million[3][4] |
Profile is a 2018 screenlife thriller film directed by Timur Bekmambetov, from a screenplay by Bekmambetov, Britt Poulton, and Olga Kharina, based upon the non-fiction book In The Skin of a Jihadist by Anna Erelle. It stars Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Amir Rahimzadeh and Morgan Watkins.
The film had its world premiere at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2018, in the Panorama section. It was released in the United States on May 14, 2021, by Focus Features, and received mixed reviews from critics.
In order to investigate the recruitment of young European women by ISIS, journalist Amy Whittaker creates a new Facebook profile under the alias of Melody Nelson. She creates a persona online of a woman who has recently converted to Islam.
Soon Amy is contacted by Bilel, an ISIS fighter from Syria. They begin talking to each other regularly and after some time she begins to develop real romantic feelings for him.
After weeks and weeks of talking via Skype, he convinces her to marry him, promising her the world. Although conflicted as she doesn’t think it holds any legal weight, she says the words he tells her to, telling her they are now married. He then tells Amy she must to go to Syria. Amy fights with herself—trying to convince herself it’s all for her work and the article. She does as instructed by Bilel and gets as far as Amsterdam, over a phone conversation she finds out Bilel won’t be meeting her and he is sending someone else to meet her, when she questions him he gets angry with her, then he takes a phone call while on Skype with her, she asks a Muslim friend to translate some of what he was saying to his friend. Her friend tells her he was negotiating a price and informing him of her eye colour and when she will be arriving, this helps her realise that he was trafficking her when in Syria and she goes back to England as soon as she can. Bilel finds out her true identity, gets angry and posts videos all over social media asking all ISIS supporters to kill her and she is a traitor. Bilel is found in Syria and it turns out he has many wives and children.
Amy goes ahead and prints her article outing him and hoping that warning other girls will save more from joining ISIS.
Cast
- Valene Kane as Amy Whittaker
- Shazad Latif as Bilel
- Christine Adams as Vick
- Morgan Watkins as Matt
- Amir Rahimzadeh as Lou
- Emma Cater as Kathy
- Kelley Mack as Converted female
- Marie Hamilton as Waitress
Production
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2018.[6][7] It also screened at South by Southwest on March 11, 2018.[8] In March 2021, Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film, and set it for a May 14, 2021, release.[9]
