“Enthralling. A spellbinding debut.”
—The Hollywood Reporter

“Extraordinary. A stunning film.”
—Little White Lies

“A taut, bewitching court procedural that doesn’t condescend to the viewer by slinking toward black-and-white offerings of good and evil… It dances on the surface of these participants, and in their subtle ripples, to reveal the humanity in the seemingly inhumane.”
—The Playlist

Saint-Omer, 2016. On the stand is Laurence Coly (an ever captivating Guslagie Malanga), a Black Senegalese French PhD student and defendant in a horrific crime.

Seated in the courtroom is Rama (Kayije Kagame), also a Black Senegalese woman, an intellectual, and writer who has traveled to the small coastal town to watch the trial while at work on a modern-day adaptation of Medea. As Rama listens to the riveting testimony of the accused, she begins to question not only the lines that separate the two women from one another, but with that of society at large.

Inspired by true events, SAINT OMER is a thoroughly engrossing examination of privilege, motherhood, and the myths we seek out to explain the inexplicable. Co-penned alongside Amrita David and critically-acclaimed novelist Marie NDiaye, Alice Diop’s feature debut, the official French submission to the International Feature Oscar race, announces the arrival of the filmmaker as a considerable talent to watch.

Series passes are available for New French Cinema Week at a 15% off discount from the list price. Passes include admission into all screenings and events.

ABOUT NEW FRENCH CINEMA WEEK

This mini-festival is our annual celebration of the Francophone world’s most distinct new cinematic voices, programmed and presented in partnership with France’s leading festival for first films—the Premiers Plans Festival of Angers, France. Between November 10 and 13, cinephiles will have a unique opportunity to see new, undistributed French-language films including festival favorites and award-winners.