Souleymane's Story

L'histoire de Souleymane

TIFF65: Greek Premiere

At first glance, Souleymane’s story seems just like any other. The story of so many displaced migrants struggling to survive in Western metropolises, doing menial jobs while waiting for their turn to apply for asylum – unknowns among other unknowns, both voiceless and speechless. But the cinematic portrait of Souleymane, a young man from Guinea, who earns his living delivering fast food on his bicycle, is a film unlike any other. Enlisting non-professional actors (including the stirring protagonist, a first-generation immigrant); working with social workers and governmental associations for the protection of vulnerable social groups (such as the French Ofpra, in the electrifying interview scene); and filming his own city through the lens of the Other, the acclaimed Parisian filmmaker delivers, by urgent procedure an intricate yet simple tribute film to the cinema of the Dardenne Brothers.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Boris Lojkine

Script: Boris Lojkine, Delphine Agut

Cinematography: Tristan Galand

Editing: Xavier Sirven

Sound: Marc-Olivier Brullé, Pierre Bariaud, Charlotte Butrak, Samuel Aïchoun

Actors: Abou Sangaré, Nina Meurisse, Alpha Oumar Sow, Emmanuel Yovanie, Younoussa Diallo, Ghislain Mahan, Mamadou Barry, Yaya Diallo, Keita Diallo

Production: Unité

Producers: Bruno Nahon

Costumes: Marine Peyraud

Sets: Géraldine Stivet

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: France

Production Year: 2024

Duration: 94'

Contact: Pyramide International

Boris Lojkine

Boris Lojkine, a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure with a thesis on "Crisis and History", decided to leave the university after completing his thesis. He closed his books and left for Vietnam, where he had previously lived and learned the language. There he made two documentary films, Ceux qui restent (2001) and Les âmes errantes (2005), both of which tell the Vietnamese side of the impossible mourning of men and women whose lives have been torn apart by war. With Hope (2014), his first feature film, he switches continents to immerse himself in the Africa of migrants. The film was presented at the Critics’ Week in Cannes and received dozens of awards at international festivals (including two Valois Awards at the Angoulême Film Festival). In 2019, Camille won the Audience Award on the Piazza Grande at the Locarno Festival, as well as the Valois and Lumière Awards for Best Actress. Presented at the Cannes Festival 2024 in the Un Certain Regard section, Souleymane’s Story is his third film.