Along the Atlantic coast, a soon-to-be-inaugurated futuristic tower looms over a suburb of Dakar. Ada, 17, is in love with Souleiman, a young construction worker. But she has been promised to another man. One night, Souleiman and his co-workers leave the country by sea, in hope of a better future. Several days later, a fire ruins Ada’s wedding and a mysterious fever starts to spread. Little does Ada know that Souleiman has returned.
Mati Diop
A Franco-Senegalese filmmaker and actress born in Paris in 1982, who grew up between two cultures that have had a profound influence on her work. Trained at Le Fresnoy, she made her acting debut in ‘35 Rhums’ (Claire Denis, 2008), before directing short films such as ‘Atlantics’ (2009), ‘Big in Vietnam’ (2011) and ‘Snow Canon’ (2012), as well as the medium-length film ‘Mille Soleils’ (2013), in which she blends fiction and documentary to explore issues such as migration, identity and postcolonial memory. These films were selected and won awards at festivals including Venice, Toronto, Rotterdam, IndieLisboa and FID Marseille, amongst others. With her feature film debut, ‘Atlantique’ (2019), she became the first woman of African descent to compete for the Palme d’Or in the entire history of the Cannes Film Festival, where she won the Grand Prix du Jury. Her next feature film, ‘Dahomey’, won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale and received two EFA Award nominations.
