Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet will represent France as its submission for the foreign language Oscar this year.

The film, from Why Not Productions, won the Grand Prize at Cannes this year.

Starring up-and-coming actor Tahar Rahim, the film follows a young man as he is taken under the wing of the Corsican mafia during a prison stint. As he rises through the ranks, it becomes clear he has designs on creating his own network.

Cannes’ festival director Thierry Fremaux along with Florence Malraux, president of the advance on receipts commission of the Centre National du Cinema (CNC), president of the Cesar Academy Alain Terzian; actress Jeanne Moreau, and directors Jean-Jacques Annaud, Costa-Gavras and Regis Wargnier were among members of the selection committee.

A Prophet was released in France by UGC on August 26. Celluloid Dreams handled sales while Sony Pictures Classics has the US rights.

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