The Story of Souleymane

Souleymane works as a bike courier in Paris and is an asylum seeker. He has two days to prepare for an interview that could secure him a residence permit in France.

From this year's Cannes Film Festival, we are presented with the story of Souleymane, a newly arrived immigrant from Guinea, who works to survive while awaiting his residence permit. Director Boris Lojkine thrusts us into the action as Souleymane heads to the interview that will determine the status of his asylum application, before taking us 48 hours back in time to experience Souleymane's life as a bicycle courier in the bustling streets of Paris.

Lojkine has previously focused on the lives of immigrants with his film Hope (2014), which competed in the Critics' Week at Cannes. This social realist film has an internal and external tempo that highlights the challenges of surviving in today's gig economy and the needle's eye that asylum seekers must pass through.

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