This year, of the 92 films submitted by countries competing for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, 25 are French productions or co-productions, and two films represent the African continent, with Senegal and Burkina Faso.
- Banel & Adama, by Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Directed by Ramata Toulaye Sy, the film "Banel and Adama" is in official competition for the Palme d'Or, first film (!).
Made in the Fulani language and starring Khady Mane and Mamadou Diallo, the film tells the love story of Banel and Adama, who live in a village in northern Senegal. That is all they know of the world; outside of it, nothing else exists. But the absolute love that unites them will clash with the conventions of the community. Because where they live, there is no room for passion, let alone chaos.
Moreover, this film was also in official competition for the Palme d'Or, first film.
- Sira, by Apolline Traoré, Burkinabe filmmaker and producer.
According to Unifrance's official synopsis, this film tells the story of Sira, a young Fulani girl, and her tribe crossing the desert to reach a village where her fiancé Jean-Sidi is waiting to marry her. Suddenly, all the men are violently massacred by a gang that appears out of nowhere. The leader of the attackers, Yéré, takes Sira away for humiliating him. Raped and left for dead in the desert, Sira finds herself alone, relying on her survival instincts. She finds refuge in a cave. In the desert, she discovers that the terrorist camp is led by Moustapha, her father's best friend, and Yéré, her rapist. Between bitterness, desolation, and a desire for revenge, Sira, who must come to terms with the fact that she is pregnant with her attacker's child, decides to do everything she can to thwart the terrorists' macabre plans, while, unbeknownst to her, her fiancé sets out to find her… Three generations of women reveal themselves alongside Sira: Aissatou, her mother, and Kémi, a teenager who was kidnapped and held captive as a sex slave.
The next step for the films in contention will be on December 21, when an initial shortlist (15 films) will be announced. The final list of films competing for the award will be revealed on January 23.