NEWS

The Davidson Film Club is pleased to invite you to a screening and discussion of the triple César Awards-winning French film Souleymane’s Story on Saturday, February 14, at 7:00 p.m. in the Armour Street Theatre in Davidson.

“Souleymane’s Story is an intimate, powerful, and moving chronicle of life on the margins.” Tara Brady, Irish Times

Directed by Boris Lojkine

France (2024, 1h33)

In French and Fulah with English subtitles

Discussion of the film will be led by Dr. Carole Kruger, Professor Emerita of French, Department of French and Francophone Studies at Davidson College.

Walk-ins are welcome, $9 (NC sales tax included) at the door, cash or check (no credit cards). Walk-ins must apply for a seat in advance at alsingerman@davidson.edu. Walk-in seats are limited by availability.

Refreshments (red and white wine, bottled water, and snacks) will be made available by the Film Club.

Film Summary:

A Paris food delivery cyclist and asylum seeker from Guinea named Souleymane, exploited by fellow immigrants, has two days to prepare his story for a make-or-break interview to secure legal residency. As he pedals through the streets of Paris to deliver meals, Souleymane repeats his story. But Souleymane is not ready.

Winner of two awards at the Cannes Film Festival (Best Actor and Jury Prize); three wins at the César Awards (Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Supporting Actress) and nominated for Best Director and Best Film, plus multiple additional prizes for Best Director, Best Film, and Best Actor. 21 wins and 21 nominations in all.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 100%!

R.T. Critics Consensus: “Achingly human in its depiction of immigrant struggles, Souleymane's Story asks us to witness, understand, and grant empathy to all.”

“From all kinds of perspectives, Souleymane’s Story may be the most urgent film of 2025.” Danny Leigh, Financial Times

“As the script teases out the details of what he’s been through, it acutely humanizes this young single male who has come to Europe in a boat. The effect is profound.” Ben Nicholson, Sight & Sound

“Sangaré wears on his face the woes of an entire European demographic that is far too often reduced to a headline, a ­statistic or a policy document.” Hilary A White, Sunday Independent (Ireland)

“With empathetic yet unsentimental means, Lojkine gracefully explores both the insurmountable pressures of the asylum-granting system and the precarious conditions of the gig economy.” Marina Ashioti, Little White Lies

“Putting the “soul” in Souleymane is Caesar Award-winner Abou Sangaré, himself an émigré from Guinea who’d never acted before. But you’d never suspect, given the depth of feeling he brings to a role that hinges entirely on his ability to evoke empathy.” Al Alexander, Movies Thru the Spectrum

“Souleymane’s Story hits hard because it lives from moment to moment and tells a story that could easily be unfolding anywhere in the world right now.” Andrew Parker, The Gate

“The anxiety, injustice, and unfairness one decent man is forced to endure in a wealthy western city hurtles towards its deeply emotional final moments like an action film for the soul.” Simon Foster, Screen-Space

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We are a non-profit, tax-exempt organization run by volunteers that only exists to bring you fine international fiction films and engage in stimulating discussion about them.

Hope that many of you will be at the February 14 screening of this timely, hard-hitting film!

Alan Singerman
President, Davidson Film Club
alsingerman@davidson.edu
(704) 231-6736
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