African Odysseys presents

Preview: Omen

+ intro and Q&A with director Baloji

Augure

A hallucinatory drama that follows a young man’s return home to reunite with his family.

  • Director

    Baloji

  • With

    Marc Zinga, Yves-Marina Gnahoua, Marcel Otete Kabeya

  • Belgium-Democratic Republic of the Congo 2023. 90min

  • Digital

  • French and Swahili with English subtitles

  • Courtesy of Aya Films

This magical realist tale navigates the divide between reality and sorcery, creating a distinctive and often impressionistic portrait of domestic and communal life. Koffi, a young Congolese man, returns to his hometown in Kinshasa and is reunited with his family and culture. However, complexities abound as four individuals find their different worlds and perspectives clashing. The directorial debut from Belgian-Congolese rapper Baloji, Omen won the New Voice prize in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.

In partnership with DAILIES.

Tomisin will be hosting a post-screening discussion with Baloji. Their conversation will interrogate the film’s textured exploration of grief, cultural identity and familial anguish.

Tomisin Adepeju is a British-Nigerian filmmaker based in London. His award-winning shorts have screened at over 150 film festivals, including Sundance, BFI London Film Festival and London Short Film Festival. He has also written about film for MUBI and several other platforms. He is the founder of the screening and event series DAILIES where he regularly curates shorts and feature film programmes.

See an African Odysseys Restored screening of Bushman + Journey Mercies with intro by director Tomisin Adepeju on Saturday 11 May.