A directorial debut programmed into the main Cannes competition is typically viewed with suspicion, if not overlooked altogether. Very rare is that lightning-in-a-bottle moment like the arrival of Son of Saul some years back. Typically, the only conversation these debuts generate is the critical debate as to why they’ve been elevated to the top of the pile when there are far more striking debuts buried deeper within the festival. This often means that accomplished films are overlooked and underappreciated by those on the ground, who may be subconsciously comparing a striking feature to the work of more established names it’s competing against for the Palme d’Or, approaching each debut with a “show me” attitude it wouldn’t be treated with if selected for placement in, say, Un Certain Regard.
Banel & Adama, the feature debut of Senegalese filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy, is an assured work that has been plagued...
Banel & Adama, the feature debut of Senegalese filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy, is an assured work that has been plagued...
- 6/4/2024
- by Alistair Ryder
- The Film Stage
In Banel & Adama, writer-director Ramata-Toulaye Sy expresses the delirium that comes with love and the downfall that’s doomed to follow it. This fable-like film about ephemeral bliss takes shape in a remote village in Senegal, where gender expectations are particularly pronounced. Crucial to the story isn’t only the expiration date that comes with feverish infatuation and society’s disciplinary powers, but the lack of synchrony between lovers—that is, when one lover’s allegiance to the relationship never seems to last as long as the other’s.
Per local tradition, Banel (Khady Mane) marries her deceased husband’s younger brother, Adama (Mamadou Diallo). If she’s to be left in peace, Banel is expected to excel as a wife. Which means doing the laundry, always sitting gracefully, working alongside the other women, and getting pregnant before her mother-in-law (Binta Racine Sy) threatens to find Adama a second wife.
Per local tradition, Banel (Khady Mane) marries her deceased husband’s younger brother, Adama (Mamadou Diallo). If she’s to be left in peace, Banel is expected to excel as a wife. Which means doing the laundry, always sitting gracefully, working alongside the other women, and getting pregnant before her mother-in-law (Binta Racine Sy) threatens to find Adama a second wife.
- 6/3/2024
- by Diego Semerene
- Slant Magazine
"Back when we were kings, masters of ourselves, masters of the world, free. Today, who are we?" Kino Lorber has revealed an official US trailer for Banel & Adama, a visually magical African love story movie from French filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy. This premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Main Competition, and went on to play at the Toronto, London, Chicago, and Denver Film Festivals in 2023. It's now set for a US release starting in June this summer. Kino Lorber is pleased to present Banel & Adama, a haunting, visually stunning West African love story and the directorial debut of Ramata-Toulaye Sy. A young couple in Senegal must contend with the disapproval of their remote village. This stars Khady Mane as Banel and Mamadou Diallo as Adama. It received mostly positive reviews out of last year's film festivals, praising both the gorgeous cinematography and passionate performances from the two leads,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The shortlist of 15 films to vie for a Best International Feature Film Oscar nomination is set to be announced on December 21. In all, movies from 88 countries are eligible this year, and as we regularly see, they offer up a rich treasure trove.
Below, we take a closer look at the potential candidates for the early cut. They include prize winners from Sundance to Berlin, Cannes, Venice and myriad other festivals and awards bodies.
Deadline, through its various Contenders events as well as separate interviews, has spoken with filmmakers behind many of the entries while all of the titles on the main list below have been reviewed by Deadline’s critics as we continue to grow our focus on international films.
To note, we have not highlighted films which are also eligible in Animation and Documentary, though our picks for possible crossovers are at the end of the main list, as are our Special Mentions.
Below, we take a closer look at the potential candidates for the early cut. They include prize winners from Sundance to Berlin, Cannes, Venice and myriad other festivals and awards bodies.
Deadline, through its various Contenders events as well as separate interviews, has spoken with filmmakers behind many of the entries while all of the titles on the main list below have been reviewed by Deadline’s critics as we continue to grow our focus on international films.
To note, we have not highlighted films which are also eligible in Animation and Documentary, though our picks for possible crossovers are at the end of the main list, as are our Special Mentions.
- 12/17/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Kino Lorber Acquires North American Rights to Senegal’s Oscar Submission ‘Banel & Adama’ (Exclusive)
Kino Lorber has acquired from Best Friend Forever all North American distribution rights to Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s directorial debut “Banel & Adama,” a beautifully haunting story of young love and Senegal’s official entry for the 96th Academy Awards. Kino Lorber is planning a theatrical release in 2024, followed by a home video, educational and digital release on all major platforms.
“Banel & Adama” made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was the only first feature to premiere in Competition, and went on to play at the Toronto and London film festivals.
The film centers on young married couple Banel and Adama, who are fiercely in love. They live in a remote village in northern Senegal. For them, nothing else exists. Yet their perfect everlasting love is on a collision course with their community’s customs. Because in this world, there is no room for passion, let alone chaos.
“Banel & Adama” made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was the only first feature to premiere in Competition, and went on to play at the Toronto and London film festivals.
The film centers on young married couple Banel and Adama, who are fiercely in love. They live in a remote village in northern Senegal. For them, nothing else exists. Yet their perfect everlasting love is on a collision course with their community’s customs. Because in this world, there is no room for passion, let alone chaos.
- 11/28/2023
- by Leo Barraclough and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 10/17/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 10/16/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Updated with latest: The Cannes Film Festival kicked off this year with opening-night movie Jeanne du Barry, and concluded Saturday evening with Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall scooping the Palme d’Or. Deadline was on the ground to watch all the key films. Here is a compilation of our reviews from the fest, which last year saw Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness win the coveted top prize on its way to an Oscar Best Picture nomination.
Check out the reviews below, click on the titles to read them in full, and keep checking back as we add more.
About Dry Grasses ‘About Dry Grasses’
Section: Competition
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Cast: Deniz Celiloglu, Ece Bagci, Merve Dizdar, Musab Ekici
Deadline’s takeaway: For Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s many fans, this is another opportunity to slip into his world, spot his sly political references and subside for a...
Check out the reviews below, click on the titles to read them in full, and keep checking back as we add more.
About Dry Grasses ‘About Dry Grasses’
Section: Competition
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Cast: Deniz Celiloglu, Ece Bagci, Merve Dizdar, Musab Ekici
Deadline’s takeaway: For Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s many fans, this is another opportunity to slip into his world, spot his sly political references and subside for a...
- 5/27/2023
- by Pete Hammond, Damon Wise, Matthew Carey, Stephanie Bunbury and Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline photo studio hosted talent from May 17-24, at the Deadline Studio at Cannes Film Festival, as cast members of Cannes premiering films stopped by including Sandra Hüller and Justine Triet from Anatomy of a Fall, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis and Stephen Park from Asteroid City; Steve Mcqueen and Bianca Stigter of Occupied City, Director Pedro Almodóvar and Ethan Hawke of Strange Way of Life; Cate Blanchett and Aswain Reid of The New Boy; Little Girl Blue with Marion Cotillard; Jennifer Lawrence and Sahra Mani from Bread and Roses; Ramata Toulaye-Sy, Khady Mane and Mamadou Diallo from Banel et Adama and many more.
Related: Canne Film Festival 2023: Film Premieres and Parties Gallery
The Deadline Studio at Cannes ran May 17-24, where the cast and creatives behind the best and buzziest titles in this year’s lineup sit down with Deadline’s festival team to discuss their movies and the...
Related: Canne Film Festival 2023: Film Premieres and Parties Gallery
The Deadline Studio at Cannes ran May 17-24, where the cast and creatives behind the best and buzziest titles in this year’s lineup sit down with Deadline’s festival team to discuss their movies and the...
- 5/23/2023
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
A Place in the Sun: Sy’s Fascinating Debut on Ruinous Social Obligations
It takes a village…to put you in your place, or so it would seem in French-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s commanding debut, Banel & Adama. A striking tale on the burden of lineage as a suffocating albatross, Sy conjures a wickedly enticing lead performance from newcomer Khady Mane as a woman who refuses to adhere to the expectations transposed upon her. An ethereal tone sets the stage for an increasingly desperate fable on dreams distilled and the eroding friction of resistance. There’s a timeless quality to its minimalist nature, but Sy’s film feels anything but spare.…...
It takes a village…to put you in your place, or so it would seem in French-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s commanding debut, Banel & Adama. A striking tale on the burden of lineage as a suffocating albatross, Sy conjures a wickedly enticing lead performance from newcomer Khady Mane as a woman who refuses to adhere to the expectations transposed upon her. An ethereal tone sets the stage for an increasingly desperate fable on dreams distilled and the eroding friction of resistance. There’s a timeless quality to its minimalist nature, but Sy’s film feels anything but spare.…...
- 5/22/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s extremely rare for a first-time filmmaker to crack the competition and this is case it is African cinema that is being feted for this remarkable feat. A project that gained tremendous word-of-mouth last year in the different labs it attended, Ramata-Toulaye Sy‘s Banel & Adama stars non-actors Mamadou Diallo and Khady Mane.
Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. The young married couple lives in a remote village in northern Senegal. For them, nothing else exists. Yet their perfect everlasting love is on a collision course with their community’s customs. Because in this world, there is no room for passion, let alone chaos.…...
Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. The young married couple lives in a remote village in northern Senegal. For them, nothing else exists. Yet their perfect everlasting love is on a collision course with their community’s customs. Because in this world, there is no room for passion, let alone chaos.…...
- 5/22/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
There is a sultry elusiveness to Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s debut feature that makes it hard to articulate its subject or even its genre. Is this a riff on “Romeo & Juliet”, filtered through Senegalese village life? Or is it a sci-fi fable, with the mirage-like heat reflecting a slow descent into personal madness a la Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia”? “Banel & Adama” is a striking debut that puts Sy on the map as a purveyor of deceptively gorgeous visions that show flimsy desires at the mercy of the social, and literal, weather. A drought can suck dry the fiercest emotional bonds, so what use is romantic love when people are dying of heat?
We hear their names first, as intimate whispers repeat, “Banel and Adama,” and Dp Amine Berrada films dancing sunbeams that refract into mysterious shapes. We then see a piece of paper with their names written down together,...
We hear their names first, as intimate whispers repeat, “Banel and Adama,” and Dp Amine Berrada films dancing sunbeams that refract into mysterious shapes. We then see a piece of paper with their names written down together,...
- 5/21/2023
- by Sophie Monks Kaufman
- Indiewire
The notebook bears the mark of obsession: The names Banel and Adama are recorded dozens of times across pages in delicate cursive. The scribe is Banel (Khady Mane), a mercurial and expressive young woman gripped by her love for Adama (Mamadou Diallo). She whispers their names to herself like a witch casting a spell: “Banel e Adama, Banel e Adama, Banel e Adama.” Their union, she tells people in their small northern Senegalese village, is the work of fate.
It’s indeed no secret that Banel loves Adama. In the opening scenes of Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s visually arresting but narratively oblique debut feature Banel & Adama, we see the couple digging out two houses buried under layers of sand. They are working toward a dream, laboring under the oppressive sun so that they might build a home and life outside of the village. Other flashes of the daily routine gesture at the depth of their affection,...
It’s indeed no secret that Banel loves Adama. In the opening scenes of Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s visually arresting but narratively oblique debut feature Banel & Adama, we see the couple digging out two houses buried under layers of sand. They are working toward a dream, laboring under the oppressive sun so that they might build a home and life outside of the village. Other flashes of the daily routine gesture at the depth of their affection,...
- 5/20/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s debut film pairs reluctant chief Adama and troublesome widow Banel as they battle local hostility to continue their relationship
Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy makes an accomplished feature debut in the Cannes competition – the only first-timer on the list – and while it is flawed, this film finds an assured place in the quietist tradition of African cinema with beautiful images and strong moments, and with relevant things to say about community, a woman’s place and the climate crisis.
Banel (Khady Mane) and Adama (Mamadou Diallo) are two young people in a Senegalese village who appear to be very much in love: dreamily, moonily, utterly infatuated with each other. Banel writes their linked names “Banel e Adama” over and over again in a notebook like a lovestruck schoolkid. They dream of living together in an abandoned house which is at present buried by a recent sandstorm.
Continue reading.
Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy makes an accomplished feature debut in the Cannes competition – the only first-timer on the list – and while it is flawed, this film finds an assured place in the quietist tradition of African cinema with beautiful images and strong moments, and with relevant things to say about community, a woman’s place and the climate crisis.
Banel (Khady Mane) and Adama (Mamadou Diallo) are two young people in a Senegalese village who appear to be very much in love: dreamily, moonily, utterly infatuated with each other. Banel writes their linked names “Banel e Adama” over and over again in a notebook like a lovestruck schoolkid. They dream of living together in an abandoned house which is at present buried by a recent sandstorm.
Continue reading.
- 5/20/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The interlinked names of the lovers have an unusual power in Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s haunting, halting “Banel & Adama.” They play over and over as a whispery lullaby on the soundtrack. They cover the sheets of paper on which Banel (Khady Mane) compulsively writes, like a schoolgirl practicing cursive on the name of her crush. There’s an innocence to it at the beginning, as though Banel, whose strange mind we mostly occupy, is simply delighting in the sound and shape of their togetherness. But that’s when “Banel & Adama” is a love story, and before it descends, a little too hesitantly but with a subtly seductive power nonetheless, into drought and madness and maybe, cosmic retribution. The sun-and-superstition-soaked tale of an African girl contending with fate and folk tradition has some precedent in Rungano Nyoni’s excellent “I Am Not a Witch.” But here, as the bright imagery...
- 5/20/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
“You cannot go against your destiny,” 18-year-old Banel is warned in Banel & Adama (Banel e Adama), a visually striking and deceptively heavy debut from French-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, only the second Black woman to make it into the Cannes Competition since Mati Diop’s Atlantics in 2019. At first sight, Sy’s film seems a bit of an outlier in a lineup sprinkled with veterans, and the extra scrutiny that comes with a Competition slot may well work against it. But it’s entirely possible that it might strike a chord with the jury, notably Rungano Nyoni, whose debut I Am Not a Witch took a similarly subversive and sophisticated approach to themes of African tradition and folklore.
Banel, played by the revelatory Khady Mane, is a romantic, and when we meet her she is hopelessly in love with Adama (Mamadou Diallo), her childhood sweetheart. Banel was once promised to another man,...
Banel, played by the revelatory Khady Mane, is a romantic, and when we meet her she is hopelessly in love with Adama (Mamadou Diallo), her childhood sweetheart. Banel was once promised to another man,...
- 5/20/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
One of the rarest sightings at the Cannes Film Festival is the first-time filmmaker whose debut feature has been admitted to the exclusive Main Competition lineup. That section is normally the domain of veteran directors who’ve been to Cannes before, but a Senegalese-French director named Ramata-Toulaye Sy has joined the 2023 ranks with “Banel & Adama,” her first feature after one short and a couple of writing credits.
Hers is the first debut film to land in the Main Competition since Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” and Ladj Ly’s “Les Miserables” did so four years ago; the former film made the Oscar shortlist in the Best International Feature Film category and the latter was nominated for that award. In the past decade, the only other first films to crash the competition were Abu Bakr Shawky’s “Yomeddine” in 2018 and Laszlo Nemes’ Oscar-winning “Son of Saul” in 2015.
So Sy is in rarefied company,...
Hers is the first debut film to land in the Main Competition since Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” and Ladj Ly’s “Les Miserables” did so four years ago; the former film made the Oscar shortlist in the Best International Feature Film category and the latter was nominated for that award. In the past decade, the only other first films to crash the competition were Abu Bakr Shawky’s “Yomeddine” in 2018 and Laszlo Nemes’ Oscar-winning “Son of Saul” in 2015.
So Sy is in rarefied company,...
- 5/20/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Debutante director Ramata-Toulaye Sy will join one of world cinema’s most select clubs when she climbs the stairs of the Grand Theatre Lumière on May 20 for the premiere of “Banel & Adama,” which unspools in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It marks just the second time in the French fest’s 76-year history that a Black woman will compete for the Palme d’Or, a glass ceiling that was shattered only four years ago by Sy’s French Senegalese compatriot, Mati Diop (“Atlantics”).
While acknowledging the honor, it is a club, Sy admits, about which she has some ambivalence. “I really hope that soon all this will be taken for granted — that we won’t be counting the Black directors, that we won’t be counting women,” the helmer tells Variety. “It means that there’s still something wrong, that there’s still something that hasn...
While acknowledging the honor, it is a club, Sy admits, about which she has some ambivalence. “I really hope that soon all this will be taken for granted — that we won’t be counting the Black directors, that we won’t be counting women,” the helmer tells Variety. “It means that there’s still something wrong, that there’s still something that hasn...
- 5/20/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Sales banner Best Friend Forever has unveiled the teaser for Ramata Toulaye-Sy’s buzzed-about Senegalese drama “Banel & Adama,” which is the sole feature debut slated for the competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
The lushly lensed female emancipation drama, set to bow on May 20, takes place in a remote village of Northern Senegal where Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. Longing for a home of their own, they have decided to live apart from their families. When Adama refuses his blood duty as future chief and informs the village council of his intentions, the whole community is disrupted and chaos ensues.
The film was shot in Pulaar language with a cast of local non-professional actors, including Khady Mane, Mamadou Diallo, Binta Racine Sy and Moussa Sow.
Toulaye-Sy said she wanted the film to tell a tragic love story that would be relatable to everyone. The helmer, who studied...
The lushly lensed female emancipation drama, set to bow on May 20, takes place in a remote village of Northern Senegal where Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. Longing for a home of their own, they have decided to live apart from their families. When Adama refuses his blood duty as future chief and informs the village council of his intentions, the whole community is disrupted and chaos ensues.
The film was shot in Pulaar language with a cast of local non-professional actors, including Khady Mane, Mamadou Diallo, Binta Racine Sy and Moussa Sow.
Toulaye-Sy said she wanted the film to tell a tragic love story that would be relatable to everyone. The helmer, who studied...
- 5/11/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Best Friend Forever has boarded Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s debut feature “Banel & Adama,” a lushly lensed Senegalese female emancipation drama. Now in post, the movie is expected to have its world premiere later this year.
‘Banel & Adama’ is set a remote village of Northern Senegal where Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. Longing for a home of their own, they have decided to live apart from their families. When Adama refuses his blood duty as future chief and informs the village council of his intentions, the whole community is disrupted and chaos ensues.
Sy studied at France’s prestigious film school La Femis and previously directed the short film “Astel” which played at Toronto, New Directors/New Films and Clermont, where it won the Special Jury award, among 80 festivals to date. Ramata, meanwhile, previously co-wrote “Our Lady of the Nil” which played at Toronto, and “Sibel” which played at Locarno and Toronto.
‘Banel & Adama’ is set a remote village of Northern Senegal where Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. Longing for a home of their own, they have decided to live apart from their families. When Adama refuses his blood duty as future chief and informs the village council of his intentions, the whole community is disrupted and chaos ensues.
Sy studied at France’s prestigious film school La Femis and previously directed the short film “Astel” which played at Toronto, New Directors/New Films and Clermont, where it won the Special Jury award, among 80 festivals to date. Ramata, meanwhile, previously co-wrote “Our Lady of the Nil” which played at Toronto, and “Sibel” which played at Locarno and Toronto.
- 2/17/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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