The double life of Abou Sangaré, undocumented migrant and Cannes award winner
French film L'Histoire de Souleymane (Souleymane’s Story) brings the life of an undocumented Guinean migrant into sharp focus. Picking up two awards at the Cannes Film Festival, it has drawn attention to the real-life plight of lead actor Abou Sangaré, who is still waiting for a visa to be able to stay in France.
Combining real-life experiences and a semi-fictional story, French film director Boris Lojkine weaves together ingredients of documentary filmmaking with the pace of a thriller – where the main character is up against the clock.
Souleymane, played by Sangaré, is a young man who has left behind a fiancé and a sick mother to seek opportunities in France. He doesn’t have any official paperwork and he’s attempting to apply for asylum.
Lojkine creates cinematic tension by filming Souleymane on his bike as he races through the streets of Paris making food deliveries for a pittance, under a false identity.
“It was very important to me to have a form of precariousness for the camera because cycling in traffic is precarious. It’s dangerous,” Lojkine told RFI, adding that the action takes place within the space of 48 hours.
The constant movement gives the film a sense of urgency and provides a metaphor for the vulnerability of these delivery people and the precarious situation they find themselves in.
In rain, hail or shine, Souleymane deals with cranky restaurant staff, rude clients and even a bike accident. Then he makes his way back to the charity-run shelter where he can rest a while before doing it all again.
Sangaré is “relieved”, his agent told the press, but “well aware” that this story is far from over.
Read more on RFI English
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