Philippe Lacôte

Ivory Coast/France/Canada/Senegal, 2020
Fiction, Colour, 93’
French, Yulá and Nü Shju, subtittles in Spanish

AFRIKALDIA 2021 WINNER

Director Philippe Lacôte
Script Philippe Lacôte, Delphine Jaquet
Producers Delphine Jaquet, Ernest Konan, Yanick Létourneau, Yoro Mbaye
Executive Producer David Oyelowo
Fotography Tobie Marier-Robitaille CSC
Sound Pierre-Jules Audet
Music Olivier Alary
Editing Aube Foglia
Artistic supervision Marius Tagba, Samuel Teisseire
Film cast Bakary Koné, Steve Tientcheu, Jean Cyrille Digbeu, Rasmané Ouédraogo, Issaka Sawadogo, Abdoul Karim Konaté, Macel Anzian, Laetitia Ky, Denis Lavant

SYNOPSIS: A trembling minor offender is thrown into “La Maca”, a prisoner-ruled self-governing penitentiary lost in an forest in the Ivory Coast. The prison chief, ill and forced to commit suicide according to their own rules, chooses this inmate as the new storyteller. As the moon turns red, he must begin to tell his story and face his destiny as he approaches its end. He picks the story of King Zama, a murderer, but idol in the eyes of his listeners. The night progresses in looming danger as imagination and creativity overflow.

ACCOLADES: Jury Prize at AFRIKALDIA 2021; Best Foreign Film at African-American Film Critics Association 2021; Best Foreign Film at Black Film Critics Circle Awards 2021; Best Foreign Film at Black Reel Awards 2021; Best Cinematography and Sound Chicago Int. Film Festival 2020; Grand Prix Fribourg Int. Film Festival 2021; Best Foreign Film Göteborg Film Festival 2021; Best Emerging Film Director Munich Film Festival 2021; Director to Watch Award at Palm Springs Int. Film Festival 2021; IFFR Young Jury Award Rotterdam Int. Film Festival 2021; Artistic Achievement Award Thessaloniki Film Festival 2020; Amplify Voices Award at Toronto Festival 2020; Horizons Award Nomination at Venice Film Festival 2020