the fast-paced life of an undocumented bicycle delivery man in a gripping social thriller

Presented at the last Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, Boris Lojkine’s film received the Jury Prize and the Best Actor Prize for Abou Sangare.

In a powerful and gripping film, Boris Lojkine retraces two days in the life of an undocumented Guinean immigrant. Freediving crossing that brings migrants out of the shadows, The Story of Souleymane releases in theaters Wednesday October 9, 2024.

He drives tirelessly in a bustling Paris. Souleymane is one of the bicycle delivery men encountered in the big cities of France. You can recognize them by the colorful insulated bag they carry on their luggage rack; some of them are illegal immigrants. Paris is for them a foreign city whose codes they do not master. Souleymane falls, Souleymane takes blows, Souleymane runs the red lights, no time. Launched at full speed on his bike, he hits a car. He gets up, polite and courteous. It fades away, no problem at all. His life on a thread.

Souleymane’s story is the one he tells himself on his bike going at full speed, the one he repeats to himself over and over before reciting it to an Ofpra agent (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and stateless persons) responsible for studying their asylum application. Souleymane’s story is his only hope of emerging from the chaos, he who has already crossed the Sahara, Libyan jails and the Mediterranean.

The power of Boris Lojkine’s film rests largely on the quality of Abou Sangare’s interpretation. The 23-year-old plays an intense and deeply moving Souleymane. At the last Cannes Film Festival where he was presented in the Un certain regard selection, the jury chaired by Xavier Dolan made no mistake in awarding the Best Actor Prize to this non-professional actor. In real life, Abou Sangare is also undocumented, he works as a mechanic. The director and casting director Aline Dalbis met him through an association in Amiens.

From the first minutes, The Story of Souleymane keeps us in suspense, in a permanent state of tension. The risk of tipping is present at every moment. An overzealous police officer, an unscrupulous Uber account rental company, an unsatisfied customer, a bus that doesn’t wait: so many threats to dodge and mountains to climb. Only the evenings at the Clignancourt emergency accommodation center offer a semblance of respite. A hot meal, a soothing shower, a bit of laundry and a few moments of fellowship.

Paris, revealed here in deliberately saturated colors, was not an easy setting to film. “It was much more complicated to shoot in Paris than in Bangui on the eve of a civil war.”testifies Boris Lojkine, referring to his previous film Camille filmed in the Central African Republic. The director opted for a minimalist approach as close as possible to reality. Five or six people on set. No lighting, no truck, no canteen. The cycling scenes are filmed on bikes in the heart of the bustling capital.

In a dramaturgy close to a thriller, Boris Lojkine describes the daily life of undocumented refugees, the ban on working which makes them even more precarious, the Parisian jungle for those who have no rights. It also speaks of the courage and tenacity it takes to get out of a rut. There is something of Ken Loach in this social film, this way of highlighting these invisible and ultra-vulnerable citizens.

“The film is exactly what I wanted to make, said Boris Lojkine during the screening in Cannes. “We didn’t have a lot of money, but it’s also a form of sobriety. If you don’t like it, it’s my fault.” did he continued. Also awarded the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes, The Story of Souleymane is a necessary film. It gives a face and an identity to all these silhouettes that we pass in the street without ever paying attention to them.

Gender : Drama
Director: Boris Lozhkin
Actors: Abou Sangare, Nina Meurisse, Alpha Oumar Sow
Country : France
Duration : 1h33
Exit : October 9, 2024
Distributer : Pyramid Distribution