Souleymane's Story

Souleymane's Story (French: L'Histoire de Souleymane), previously titled The Story of Souleymane,^[3] 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.^[4]

Souleymane's Story
Theatrical release poster
French	L'Histoire de Souleymane
Directed by	Boris Lojkine
Written by	Boris Lojkine Delphine Agut
Produced by	Bruno Nahon
Starring	Abou Sangaré
Cinematography	Tristan Galand
Edited by	Xavier Sirven
Production company	Unité
Distributed by	Pyramide Distribution
Release dates	19 May 2024 (2024-05-19) (Cannes)[1] 9 October 2024 (2024-10-09) (France)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	France
Languages	French Fula Maninka[2]

The film had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival,^[5] where it won the Jury Prize and the Performance Prize.^[6] It received eight nominations at the 50th César Awards, including Best Film, and won four awards: Best Supporting Actress (for Nina Meurisse), Best Male Revelation (for Sangaré), 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.^[7]

The themes revolve around the exploitation of the 'sans papiers' (without papers) 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

• Abou Sangaré as Souleymane^[8]
• Nina Meurisse as the OFPRA agent
• Alpha Oumar Sow as Barry
• Emmanuel Yovanie as Emmanuel
• Younoussa Diallo as Khalil
• Ghislain Mahan as Ghislain
• Mamadou Barry as Mamadou
• Yaya Diallo as Yaya
• Keita Diallo as Kadiatou

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.^[8][9]

Scenes in which Souleymane delivered food on his bicycle were filmed by a cameraman riding a bicycle alongside the actor.^[10]

To write the final asylum interview scene, the filmmakers gathered input from Guinean asylum seekers and sat in on interviews conducted by Ofpra (the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons).^[8]

Release

Souleymane's Story had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival,^[5] where it won the Jury Prize and the Performance Prize,^[6] and the FIPRESCI Prize for the Un Certain Regard section.

Pyramide Distribution released the film in French cinemas on 9 October 2024.^[11]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10.^[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[13]

Accolades

Award	Ceremony date	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival	2024	Médiafilm Robert-Claude Bérubé Prize	Souleymane's Story	Won	[14]
Cannes Film Festival	25 May 2024[a]	Prix Un Certain Regard		Nominated	[7]
		Un Certain Regard – Jury Prize		Won	[16]
		Un Certain Regard – Best Performance[b]	Abou Sangaré	Won
		FIPRESCI Prize	Souleymane's Story	Won	[17]
César Awards	28 February 2025	Best Film		Nominated	[18]
		Best Director	Boris Lojkine	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Nina Meurisse	Won
		Best Male Revelation	Abou Sangaré	Won
		Best Original Screenplay	Boris Lojkine and Delphine Agut	Won
		Best Cinematography	Tristan Galand	Nominated
		Best Editing	Xavier Sirven	Won
		Best Sound	Marc-Olivier Brullé, Pierre Bariaud, Charlotte Butrak and Samuel Aïchoun	Nominated
European Film Awards	7 December 2024	European Actor	Abou Sangaré	Won	[19]
		European Sound	Marc-Olivier Brullé, Pierre Bariaud, Charlotte Butrak, Samuel Aïchoun, Rodrigo Diaz	Won
Louis Delluc Prize	4 December 2024	Best Film	Souleymane's Story	Nominated	[20]
Lumière Awards	20 January 2025	Best Film		Nominated	[21]
		Best Director	Boris Lojkine	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Boris Lojkine and Delphine Agut	Nominated
		Best Actor	Abou Sangaré	Won
		Best Cinematography	Tristan Galand	Nominated

Notes

1. The award ceremony of Un Certain Regard was held on 24 May 2024.^[15]
2. Shared with Anasuya Sengupta for The Shameless.