Programs Film @ The Africa Center- ATLANTIQUE

Join us at The Africa Center on Thursday, October 26th at 7:00PM ET for Film at The Africa Center screening of Atlantique. A soon-to-be-inaugurated futuristic tower looms over a suburb of Dakar. Ada, 17, is in love with Souleimane, a young construction worker. But she has been promised to another man. One night, Souleimane and his co-workers disappear at sea. Soon after, they come back to haunt their old neighbourhood by taking possession of the girlfriends they left behind. Some of the workers have come claiming revenge and threaten to burn the tower down if the developer does not pay their wages.

In partnership with the African Film Festival, Film at The Africa Center will host a series showcasing a selection of films by renowned and emerging African filmmakers. These films will reflect a range of genres, themes, and visual styles, allowing audiences to experience the vibrant tapestry of African cinema.

About the Director

Mati Diop lives and works in Paris and is both filmmaker and actor. She directed her first four short films while attending Le Fresnoy and Le Pavillon (Palais de Tokyo). She is the niece of the great Senegalese film director Djibril Diop Mambéty, and made Mille soleils (2013) as a homage to his Touki bouki. In Rotterdam, Diop has won a Tiger Award for Short Films twice: in 2010 for Atlantiques and in 2012 for Big in Vietnam. In 2014, the filmmaker was in Rotterdam as a jury member for the short films competition. Her latest feature, Atlantique (2019), won the Grand Prix at the 2019 edition of the Cannes Festival. She is the first black female director to participate in the Cannes Competition.