“Souleymane’s Story” follows Souleymane, a recent Guinean immigrant, as he travels through the streets of Paris and prepares for his asylum application and interview while working for a meal delivery service on his e-bike.
He has only two days to prepare for the crucial interview that will determine his residence permit status.
Souleymane, played by newcomer Abou Sangaré, is working so hard to get citizenship in France, but he is up against so much—even from brothers that he once considered his own countrymen.
He is working under another man’s e-bike account, and that man, Emmanuel, is cheating him—simply because he can.
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.
This prep service teaches Souleymane to practice a story, including about his time in Libya—where he recalls that he was treated like an animal and imprisoned.
The only problem is that once he gets to his hearing, he learns that to his detriment, others have been spewing the same exact story.
This film had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Performance Prize. Sangaré won the 2025 César Award for Best Male Revelation, which recognizes the outstanding breakthrough performance of a young actor who has worked within the French film industry during the year preceding the ceremony.
Reportedly, Sangaré’s story is of a transformative destiny, that of a young mechanic who became a rising star of French cinema. Born in 2001 in Sinko, Guinea, he grew up in a modest environment where dreams often seem out of reach.
During his adolescence, Sangaré’s mother’s illness led him to make a radical decision: to leave his country in search of a better future. From Guinea to Algeria, then to Europe. He arrived in France in 2017, alone and undocumented, at just 16 years old.
The turning point of his life came in 2023, when, almost by accident, he tried out for a casting. Director Boris Lojkine saw in him the perfect embodiment of his character in “L’Histoire de Souleymane,” or “Souleymane’s Story.” The role, deeply inspired by Sangaré’s own life, became a revelation.
I have been trying to get my hands on this screener for a few months, and it was worth the wait.
During his acceptance speech, Sangaré said: “Since I crossed the Mediterranean Sea, up until April 2023, I have experienced it all: misery—everything that misery is—everything that a human being is, both the good and the bad. Thanks to The Story of Souleymane, thanks to my team, thanks to our distributors, I found my place in this world. Thank you for integrating me into humanity.”
Facets Film Forum, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., will host screenings of “Souleymane’s Story” from September 13–21. For more information, visit facets.org.