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Exclusive: French screenwriter and director Simon Moutaïrou spent summers as a teenager in his father’s native country of Benin in West Africa.

Etched on his memory from this time are the trips to its so-called slave coast and port city of Ouidah, through which more than one million Africans passed in the 18th and early 19th centuries ahead of being transported overseas for a life of slavery.

“There is an enormous red brick arch commemorating these deportations, ‘The Door of No Return’,” says Moutaïrou.

“I couldn’t get my head around this idea of such inequality between people, or human beings being treated like animals. When my father or uncles talked to me about what had happened, my adolescent spirit couldn’t fathom it … but it always stayed in the back of my mind.”

Some 20 years on, Moutaïrou’s feature directorial debut No Chains, No Masters is making waves...

He managed to “outdo” his 2022 Cannes experience of Revoir Paris and Albert Serra’s masterwork Pacifiction, with a three film presence on the croisette this year with premieres of The King of Algiers (aka Omar la fraise), Rosalie and the excellent The Pot au Feu. This week Benoît Magimel joins the cast of Ni chaînes ni maîtres – Black Box / Goliath scribe Simon Moutaïrou‘s directorial debut. Camille Cottin, Félix Lefebvre, Swala Emati, Ibrahima Mbaye Tchie and Anna Thiandoum are part of the cast. The Chi-Fou-mi’s Nicolas Dumont and Hugo Sélignac (Omar la fraise) produce the film.…...

Raw, raging realism clashes with melodramatic contrivance in Moussa Sène Absa’s “Xalé,” and that’s before a theatrical chorus of women seizes the screen to comment on the unfolding tragedy. The latest film from the veteran Senegalese director blends narrative styles and traditions with abandon, running the gamut from local folklore to Western-style soap opera, in an effort to make its tale of female subjugation and self-liberation as stretchily universal as possible. If that makes “Xalé” uneven practically by design, it’s consistently, colorfully diverting and honestly felt — it’s not hard to see why Senegalese selectors tapped it as the country’s international Oscar submission this year, though it lacks the finesse and political complexity of their recent, shortlisted entries “Atlantics” and “Félicité.”

In a market still largely unaccommodating of sub-Saharan African cinema, those films benefited from competition berths at Cannes and Berlin respectively. Having quietly premiered at...

Exclusive: The 26th annual Austin Film Festival (Aff) has set The Obituary of Tunde Johnson as their opening night film. The fest takes place on October 24-31.

The film, written by up-and-comer Stanely Kalu and directed by Ali LeRoi, will make its U.S. premiere after debuting to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival. The story follows the titular character (played by 13 Reasons Why actor Steven Silver), a gay, black teenager trapped in a time loop that forces him to relive his own brutal murder at the hands of a police officer on duty. The Obituary of Tunde Johnson marks LeRoi’s feature directorial debut and Kalu’s first produced feature screenplay.

In addition, Mati Diop’s directorial debut Atlantics will make its U.S. premiere at the fest. The romance set in Senegal was awarded the Sutherland Award at the BFI London Film Festival as well as...

The Toronto International Film Festival has picked one final star to honor at its newly revamped Tiff Tribute Gala, slated for September 9, in the thick of the annual fall festival. Joana Vicente and Cameron Bailey, Co-Heads of Tiff, have announced “Atlantics” director M​ati Diop​ as the inaugural recipient of the ​recently announced Mary Pickford Award​.

The award, named in honour of Toronto native Mary Pickford, recognizes “an emerging female talent who is making groundbreaking strides in the industry.” Pickford was the pioneering actor, producer, and co-founder of United Artists, and the award is being launched in conjunction with United Artists’ centennial this year.

“We’re thrilled to honour the incredible Mati Diop as our inaugural Mary Pickford Award recipient, as United Artists marks its centennial year,” said Vicente, Executive Director and Co-Head of Tiff in an official statement. “She is a vibrant and important new voice within the industry and one to watch closely.

Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to two films that played at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Mati Diop’s “Atlantics,” which played in competition, and Jérémy Clapin’s animated film “I Lost My Body,” which won the top prize from the Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar of the festival, the streamer announced Saturday.

For “Atlantics,” Netflix acquired worldwide rights excluding China, Benelux, Switzerland, Russia and France, but it has subscription video on demand (SVoD) rights for 36 months following its theatrical release in France, Benelux and Switzerland. For “I Lost My Body, Netflix acquired worldwide excluding China, Benelux, Turkey and France, but also has SVoD rights for 36 months following its theatrical in France, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.

Diop’s “Atlantics” played in competition and, on Saturday, was awarded the Grand Prix prize from the jury led by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Diop made her feature directorial debut on the film...

Netflix has scooped up the global rights to Cannes Grand Prix Winner Atlantics from female director Mati Diop and the Cannes Critics’ Week Award Winner I Lost My Body from Xilam Animation. That pic reps director Jérémy Clapin’s Animated Feature Debut.

For Atlantics, the deal doesn’t include China, Benelux, Switzerland, Russia, France, while I Lost My Body excludes China, Benelux, Turkey, France. Atlantics was sold by Fionnuala Jamison at mk2 films. I Lost My Body was sold by Carole Baraton at Charades

Atlantics reps Diop’s feature directorial debut and takes place in Dakar along the Atlantic Coast. Seventeen-year-old Ada 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 hopes of a better future. Several days later, a fire ruins Ada’s wedding and a mysterious fever starts to spread.

Both deals cover the world excluding France and several other territories.

Netflix made its presence felt on closing night in Cannes, swooping on most of the world on both Mati Diop’s Cannes Grand Prix winner Atlantics and Jérémy Clapin’s Critics’ Week winner I Lost My Body.

The streaming titan made a noise with the late pick-ups, despite its deliberate absence from Competition with its original films due to the strictures of French media chronology laws.

Both deals were for the world excluding France, unsurprisingly, as well as China and Benelux. The Atlantics deal also excluded Switzerland and Russia.

Several recent movies have explored the refugee crisis as a deadly proposition, from the documentary “Fire at Sea” to “Mediterranean,” both of which focus on dramatic attempts to cross the ocean on rickety boats. The striking distinction of Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” is the way it magnifies the experiences of those left behind. Diop’s gorgeous, mesmerizing feature directorial debut focuses on the experiences of a young woman named Ada (Mama Sané) stuck in repressive circumstances on the coast of Dakar after her boyfriend vanishes en route to Spain. But it’s less fixated on his departure with other locals than its impact on Ada, and the community around her, as it contends with the eerie specter of the boys who went away.

An actress and filmmaker whose experimental shorts touch on similar themes, Diop’s first feature doesn’t always fit together from a narrative perspective, but it musters...