Mediawan & Goodfellas’ Round 12 Unveils ‘Imane Khelif: Still Fighting’ Documentary By Lina Soualem Ahead Of TIFF Sales Launch

EXCLUSIVE: Mediawan & Goodfellas sport label Round 12 has boarded sales on Imane Khelif: Still Fighting by Lina Soualem, the first documentary about the female Algerian boxer whose victory at the Paris 2024 Olympics sparked a political storm, for a TIFF launch. It will be the third documentary from Algerian compatriot Soualem, who is also French and Palestinian, after award-winning Venice title Bye Bye Tiberias and Their Algeria. The official synopsis reads: “In Paris in 2024, Imane Khelif is catapulted from obscurity into the limelight. The Algerian boxer is the first athlete from Africa to win a gold medal. But her triumph unleashes an unprecedented political and media storm: her status as a woman is challenged, and her body becomes a battleground. Her strength, her physique, her very existence are as divisive as they are unifying. Torn between her thirst to pursue her passion and her anger at being constantly called into question, Imane then embarks on a new fight, taking on the institutions that prevent her from boxing.” Twenty-seven-year-old Khelif was born and raised as a woman, identifies as a woman and is registered as a woman on her passport. She had been competing in international women’s boxing championships for six years by the time of her victory at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the 66 kg (145 pounds) welterweight category. Watch on Deadline Her career came under scrutiny following the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) decision to disqualify her from the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi in March 2023, alongside Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, on the basis that they had failed gender eligibility tests. A raft of high-profile names harassed Khelif on social media, suggesting she was male, even though this charge has repeatedly been dismissed as false information. Soualem’s film will tell the story of Khelif as an exceptional athlete, who has become a mirror of the fractures of the times, as she embarks on her greatest battle yet: the fight for the right to be herself. Since being accused of being a man at the Paris Olympics, Khelif has been prevented from competing at the highest level. The documentary will portray Khelif’s daily life ever since but also her whole life starting from her birth and childhood in Algeria. At the heart of the film is a twofold fight: that of an athlete to keep boxing, and that of a woman to be recognized as one. It will not seek to exonerate or accuse, but to understand and question women’s place on the altar of sports equity. “Imane Khelif: Still Fighting explores the complexities of how society looks at female strength, at a body that asserts itself, at a woman who stands her ground and refuses to apologize for being strong. Imane totally embodies what many women go through across very different backgrounds,” said Soualem. “Beyond sport, this film raises a bigger question: what does it mean to be a woman in today’s world? It matters deeply to me to bring this project to life, to tell Imane’s story, and to give her back her voice to tell her own truth.” In production since May 2025, the documentary will feature interviews with athletes, family and friends, journalists and sports institution officials. The film is produced by Mediawan-owned Black Dynamite Production. The company already produced documentaries like Cannes-selected Salam, Tony Parker: The Last Shot, In the Shadow of Teddy Riner, or TV Series Chasing History with Lindsey Vonn. ROUND 12 was launched in early 2026 by Mediawan and Goodfellas designed to co-produce, co-develop and co-market high-end fiction and documentary contents centered on sport, for films and TV series.