He is the hero of the film “The story of Souleymane” by Boris Lojkine, which hits theaters this Wednesday. Like his character, Abou Sangaré is Guinean and lives without papers. Now an actor, the 23-year-old young man recounts his exile and his arrival in France.
“I arrived at 16, in 2017,” says Abou Sangaré. The young man leaves Guinea to try to provide for the needs of his mother, who is seriously ill and for whom he is responsible. He decides to cross Mali and its desert to reach Algeria and work. He then reached Libya and then attempted to cross the Mediterranean by zodiac to Italy. He was imprisoned after his first attempt because he no longer had any money: “We are constantly asked to pay to cross,” says Abou Sangaré.
Freed by a smuggler to whom he sent a few hundred euros once in France, the actor confides that what he earned while filming “The Story of Souleymane” repaid his debts: “It allowed me to pay my way to get here.” Never going to school in Guinea, Abou Sangaré learned to read and write at the age of 16, upon arriving in Amiens.
Presented at the last Cannes Film Festival in the Un certain regard section, Boris Lojkine’s film received the Jury Prize and the Best Actor Prize for Abou Sangare.
