Souleymane's Story


Souleymane's Story, previously titled The Story of Souleymane, is a 2024 French film directed by Boris Lojkine from a script he wrote with Delphine Agut. The film stars Abou Sangaré as Souleymane, an immigrant from Guinea working for a food delivery service in Paris.
The film had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Performance Prize. It received eight nominations at the 50th César Awards, including Best Film, and won four awards: Best Supporting Actress, Best Male Revelation, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing.

Premise

Souleymane's Story follows Souleymane, a recent Guinean immigrant, through the streets of Paris as he prepares for his asylum application interview while working for a meal delivery service on his e-bike.
The themes revolve around the exploitation of the 'sans papiers' often by fellow Africans - one a fellow immigrant from northern Guinea who lazily coaches asylum applicants to recite false stories of political persecution at their hearings in return for payment, and another who lends Souleymane a food delivery account but then takes half of his earnings every week. The film largely avoids depictions of racism but equally, there are few acts of kindness in the film.

Cast

Production

While developing the film, Lojkine and casting director Aline Dalbis consulted with food delivery workers in Paris to learn about the challenges they faced and got to know members of the city's Guinean immigrant community. The film's star, Abou Sangaré, was identified during an open casting call conducted as part of this research. He had no acting experience. Sangaré had immigrated to France seven years prior to casting, while he was still a teenager, and his personal story was incorporated into the film's narrative. He works as a heavy truck mechanic in Amiens and it was this acting role that helped Sangaré secure permanent residency in France.
Scenes in which Souleymane delivered food on his bicycle were filmed by a cameraman riding a bicycle alongside the actor.
To write the final asylum interview scene, the filmmakers gathered input from Guinean asylum seekers and sat in on interviews conducted by Ofpra.

Release

Souleymane's Story had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Performance Prize, and the FIPRESCI Prize for the Un Certain Regard section.
Pyramide Distribution released the film in French cinemas on 9 October 2024.