Cycling through crowded Parisian streets while hustling as an illegal food courier, Souleymane has less than 48 hours to prepare for his asylum interview by rehearsing the details of his migration from Guinea between deliveries. Only, the story he’s desperately trying to memorize is a lie. Exhausted by the grueling grind of the gig economy and hopping between homeless shelters, Souleymane barely has the time—or the money—to meet with Barry, an immigration broker who promises that a fake story about political persecution in Guinea will guarantee asylum. Racing against time as he navigates the faceless bureaucracies and merciless systems fencing him in, Souleymane struggles not to lose himself in his pursuit of freedom.
Winning multiple awards at Cannes, Souleymane’s Story is a thrilling social realist drama centered around a virtuosic, heartrending performance from non-professional actor Abou Sangare in his debut role. An angry, tender film which is as gripping as any thriller.
Jury Prize, Best Actor, Un Certain Regard 2024
Supported by
Abou Sangare, Nina Meurisse, Alpha Oumar Sow, Emmanuel Yovanie, Younoussa Diallo, Ghislain Mahan
France
2024
In French, Fulah and Malinke with English subtitles
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Bruno Nahon
Screenwriter
Boris Lojkine, Delphine Agut
Cinematography
Tristan Galand
Editor
Xavier Sirven
Boris Lojkine
Boris Lojkine, a philosophy graduate from the Ecole Normale Supérieure, left academia after his thesis to make documentary films in Vietnam, including Ceux qui restent (2001) and Les âmes errantes (2005). His first feature, Hope (2014), was presented at the Critics’ Week in Cannes and received dozens of awards in international festivals. In 2019, Camille won several awards, including the Audience Award at Locarno. His third film, Souleymane’s Story, was presented in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2024.
Filmography: Hope (2014); Camille (2019)
Photo by Leonie Lojkine
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Silent Friend
In this entrancing reverie from On Body and Soul director Ildikó Enyedi, we are invited to contemplate several human specimens from the vantage point of a mighty Ginkgo biloba tree on the grounds of a German university.
Fiume o Morte!
The Croatian city of Rijeka rediscovers its own past in this delightfully unconventional hybrid documentary about Italian poet and proto-fascist Gabriele D’Annunzio, who seized the city known in Italian as Fiume in 1919.
The Art of Adventure
The unbelievable adventure story of how painter Robert Bateman and ecologist Bristol Foster drove a Land Rover from Africa to Australia in 1957, developing a love of nature to last a lifetime. An inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.
Bushido
An impeccable samurai (and "Go" expert), Kakunoshin is framed for a crime and forced into exile. Years later he stumbles across the true reason for his fall from grace, and sets about exacting his revenge...