Fortissimo Films has acquired international rights to Moroccan director Leila Kilani’s Sur La Planche which is screening in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes this year.

The feature debut follows four young Moroccan girls looking for opportunities in the “Free Zone” near Tangiers which is a slice of European lifestyle on African soil. Kilani previously directed the documentaries Our Forbidden Places in 2009 and Tangier, The Burners’ Dream in 2003.

The film was produced by Kilani through Socco Chico Films along with Charlotte Vincent of Aurora Films. Fortissimo has rights outside of France and Morocco. The deal was brokered by producer Vincent, Kilani and Fortissimo’s senior vice president Chris Paton.

“Leila’s film is really representative of the fresh, dynamic talent emerging from this region. Its subject matter confronts the harsh realities of this world – especially as it applies to women – but she also gives these characters a voice beyond what we read in the papers,” said Paton.

Aurora Films, founded by Vincent in 2002, is also presenting En Ville by Valérie Mréjen and Bertrand Schefer in the 2011 Directors’ Fortnight.