Filmhuis Sneek - L'histoire de Souleymane by Boris Lojkine

Leeuwenburg 12 Sneek

In L'histoire de Souleymane, we see two days in the life of Souleymane, a Guinean bicycle courier who prepares for his asylum interview during his rides through Paris by rehearsing a story that is not his own.

Tuesday 7 January 2025vanaf 20:00

Talking to OFPRA (the French agency for the protection of refugees and stateless persons) is the key to getting papers, but Souleymane is not ready.

French director Boris Lojkine's L'histoire de Souleymane can be seen as a sequel to Hope (2014), his first fiction film with which he won the Prix SACD from the Cannes side program Semaine de la critique. Lojkine based the script, which he co-wrote with Delphine Agut, on the stories he heard from real-life deliverymen, in which the issue of papers invariably recurred.

NOTE: This film also runs in Film Winter.

The documentary-looking fiction film was shot with a small crew in Paris; the cycling scenes were filmed from other bikes. Lead actor Abou Sangare (23), who had arrived in France seven years earlier, working undocumented as a mechanic, was awarded the Best Actor prize by the Un certain regard jury at the last Cannes festival for his intense, moving portrayal. L'histoire de Souleymane also received the Prix de Jury.