This excitingly radical, avant-garde, fast-moving and at times surreal drama finds director Med Hondo boldly displaying influences that range from Eisenstein to Godard. Shot on a low budget over four years, Oh, Sun! tells the story of a man from a French colony in West Africa who, encouraged by propaganda, is chosen to emigrate to Paris where he optimistically hopes to make a ‘better’ life for himself. Although an educated man, he has extreme difficulty finding work (employers refuse to hire him before he’s given an interview). He can’t get an apartment because landlords worry he’ll cause trouble. And he’s on the receiving end of condescending sexual advances from women. He faces discrimination from all angles. Prize-winning Med Hondo is a giant of African cinema and Oh, Sun! is a vibrant humanist statement on racism and immigration that remains pertinent today.

Julie Pearce