SOULEYMANE’S STORY

(L’Histoire de Souleymane)

CINEMA COMPETITION
FRENCH NEWAVE 2.0
TRUFFAUT THEATRE
Drama

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2
11:00 am (Screening ends at 12:55 pm)

Presented in association with:
Pyramide International
ELMA

Directed by: Boris Lojkine
Written by: Delphine Agut, Boris Lojkine
Produced by: Bruno Nahon (Unité)
Cinematography: Tristan Galand
Film Editing: Xavier Sirven
Cast: Abou Sangare (Souleymane), Nina Meurisse (OFPRA agent), Alpha Oumar Sow (Barry), Emmanuel Yovanie (Emmanuel), Younoussa Dialo (Khalil), Ghislain Mahan (Ghislain), Mamadou Barry (Mamadou), Yaya Dialo (Yaya)
International Sales: Pyramide International

Director Boris Lojkine takes us on a very visceral ride through the streets of Paris, depicting the harsh reality of a recent Guinean immigrant named Souleymane. The young man crisscrosses the metropolis at top speed on his bike, racing through traffic and racing against the clock, because every minute counts when you’re trying to make a buck by delivering restaurant meals, yet getting scammed left and right by the guys who are supposedly helping you. But what Souleymane is really fixated on is his political asylum application interview in two days, which will determine whether or not he will attain legal residency in France, and the “story” everyone insists he must memorize and recount by rote if he wants a positive verdict… even if it’s a story that totally baffles him and bears no resemblance whatsoever to the truth.

A former philosophy professor in Marseille, Boris Lojkine began by directing documentaries in Vietnam and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hope (2014), his first feature, was shot in Africa and premiered in the Critics’ Week section in Cannes, where it was awarded the SACD Prize and the Grand Golden Rail Award, then went on to win the Critics’ Award at the Hamburg Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Anger European First Film Festival. His second feature, Camille (2019) picked up a César nomination for Most Promising Actress for Nina Meurisse, and won the Audience Award at the Locarno Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Kerala International Film Festival. He has cowritten screenplays for Naël Marandin’s She Walks (2015) and Marta Bergman’s Alone at