The Story of Souleymane <img src="https://img.icons8.com/ios-glyphs/20/000000/star--v1.png"/><img src="https://img.icons8.com/ios-glyphs/20/000000/star--v1.png"/><img src="https://img.icons8.com/ios-glyphs/20/000000/star--v1.png"/>

The Story of Souleymane

The Story of Souleymane was the media preview opening film of this year's Alliance Francais French Film Festival. This drama of frustrations, directed by Boris Lojkine, feels like a real story, probably not too far removed from the myriad other folk trying to find a better life in Europe (or other, more economically advanced countries than their own).

Souleymane is a young Guinean bloke working as a fast food courier (ala Uber Eats) in Paris, but this is more complex than it sounds. For reasons soon made clear, he has to borrow the courier account of another guy to earn his bikkies. A simple request from the courier company to upload a selfie sees Souleymane dashing to the workplace of the guy who 'owns' the account, to get the pic. Just one of the many anxiety inducing trials this poor lad goes through.

The nugget of the story is that Souleymane is a couple of days away from his residency interview. For whatever reason, it's decided that he must lie to the authorities to stand the best chance of succeeding. Hence the invention of a tale of government abuses, police violence and political action.

He's coached by Barry (Alpha Oumar Sow) to get the story spot-on for his interview but he won't get the documents from him that he needs unless he fronts up with the cash required. But can Souleymane convince the owner of the courier account, Emmanuel (Emmanuel Yovanie) to pay him what he owes?

Souleymane is played by non-actor Abou Sangare, and the film certainly benefits from the fact that Sangare went through the tribulations that his character must face in real life. He's fantastic and we feel every knock-back he suffers, every frustration, every fear, every irritant.

It's sad, tense, very verité in style, it could be a polished documentary, similar in theme to Io Capitano, in fact, more like a sequel of sorts. Many of the horrors that are mentioned by Souleymane are actually shown in Matteo Garrone's film - that was the journey out of Africa, this is the next, more bureaucratic stage. This is a bleak film, but with an eye out for the non-predators in the system, and it therefore allows a skerrick of hope to bleed through.

The Story of Souleymane is screening at the Alliance Francais French Film Festival from March 13 - April 16 at Luna and Palace cinemas in Perth (different dates around Australia).

See also:

As mentioned, this would work as part of a double bill with Matteo Garrone's Io Capitano (2023). Another very good film about an undocumented African in France is Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre (2011).

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