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The Story of Souleymane

The Story of Souleymane - image - a film by Boris Lojkine
The Story of Souleymane - image - a film by Boris Lojkine
The Story of Souleymane - image - a film by Boris Lojkine
The Story of Souleymane - image - a film by Boris Lojkine
COMING SOON FROM PALACE FILMS
The Story of Souleymane - poster - a film by Boris Lojkine
Superb. Effective in maintaining a level of urgency and high-stakes personal peril that few genre thrillers can muster. If the hero’s dire situation is a ticking clock, Lojkine’s intelligent and empathetic film places us right alongside him, with each cog of circumstance and each gear of good fortune grinding against him at every turn.
A tense, restless thriller.
Thrilling, moving and edifying. Lojkine plunges with gripping intensity into a kind of B-side of the topic of illegal immigration. A dazzling, touching and fascinating piece of humanist fiction that moves at 100km an hour and is worthy of praise.
Glorious. All hail Abou Sangare who gives us not only a great performance but also connects us to a large part of humanity.
Director: Boris Lojkine
Cast: Abou Sangaré, Nina Meurisse, Alpha Oumar Sow
Duration: 92mins
Country of Origin: France
CTC
Superb. Effective in maintaining a level of urgency and high-stakes personal peril that few genre thrillers can muster. If the hero’s dire situation is a ticking clock, Lojkine’s intelligent and empathetic film places us right alongside him, with each cog of circumstance and each gear of good fortune grinding against him at every turn.
A tense, restless thriller.
Thrilling, moving and edifying. Lojkine plunges with gripping intensity into a kind of B-side of the topic of illegal immigration. A dazzling, touching and fascinating piece of humanist fiction that moves at 100km an hour and is worthy of praise.
Glorious. All hail Abou Sangare who gives us not only a great performance but also connects us to a large part of humanity.

WINNER – 2024 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL (Un Certain Regard) – Jury Prize, Best Actor & Fipresci International Critics' Prize
WINNER - 2024 AMERICAN FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL - Critics' Award
OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2024 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2024 MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2024 NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
2025 EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS NOMINEE – Best Actor

One of the year’s finest and most vital French films, and the winner of three prestigious awards at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, writer/director Boris Lojkine’s vivid and compassionate new drama follows a young courier as he races across Paris whilst preparing for a life-changing residency interview.

Food delivery workers have become an indispensable part of city life, especially since the pandemic. Among them is Souleymane (Abou Sangaré, in a commanding debut), who criss-crosses the frenetic Parisian streets morning to night, in a constant race against the cl0ck. He, like many around him, is working without permission, ‘renting’ his identity from a friend with legal status. But in just two days, Souleymane will learn whether his own asylum application will be approved or not. So whilst striving to meet his delivery platform’s demands, he nervously practices for his interview, trying to keep his growing anxiety at bay…

A social-realist thriller as humanist as it is propulsive, former philosophy professor Lojkine’s masterfully-crafted drama echoes not only The Bicycle Thieves and the best films of the Dardennes, but also edge-of-your-seat thrillers such as Uncut Gems and Full Time. Only adding to the film’s immense power is the real-life situation of its remarkable lead, who has already been denied citizenship by French authorities. Three times.  

A major word of mouth hit at the French box office that became a national talking point, THE STORY OF SOULEYMANE is essential viewing.

The Story of Souleymane - poster - a film by Boris Lojkine
COMING SOON FROM PALACE FILMS