His story seems linked to that of the film. This Wednesday, October 9, the young Guinean Abou Sangaré is starring in Boris Lojkine’s film, “The Story of Souleymane”. And despite his face on the cinema posters, he will submit a fourth request for regularization of his situation to the prefecture this Thursday.
Between the history of Souleymane and that of Sangaré the border is fine. In the film, the character played by Sangaré is an undocumented deliveryman despised by customers and restaurateurs, but motivated to obtain French nationality. He must then manage between his lies, vital to survive, and the troubles that follow one another.
“I know what it’s like when you don’t have your papers here in France and you’re looking for papers. It’s complicated” expresses the young actor at the microphone of France Blue. He was refused his third request the day before the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, where he won the Best Actor Prize in the section A certain look. Awarded, but not regularized. In this particular moment, the 15 minutes of standing ovation moved him to tears. “To be completely honest with you, I did not at all expect this project to have such an impact. I committed to something and then there it was. The extra prize at the end gave me strength, I could be proud of the work accomplished. » he explains in an interview with Release.
But this prize is not only recognition for cinema, it pushed the Somme prefecture to reconsider its request last August.
From Guinea to France: the desire to help your mother
Abou Sangaré was born in Sinko in southeastern Guinea. He never went to school and at a very young age, he began working on a small farm. While he takes care of his sick mother with his sister, “as soon as she got married, I took over all the responsibility for my mother. It was very complicated to finance these medical needs” says the young actor at the microphone of Sonia Devillers on France Inter.
At the age of 15, no longer able to do so, Abou Sangaré decided to go to Algeria to work. In an interview with Releasethe young actor says that it was friends who encouraged him to try his luck there, “they were looking for labor, and I could earn more money. »
The disillusionment is great. After trying to cross the Mediterranean the first time, no longer able to pay the smugglers, he was imprisoned for two weeks. When there was room left on a zodiac, a smuggler took him to Italy, making him promise to pay him back the day he had money. “I was able to pay the gentleman. While working on this project, with the money I got, I repaid all my debts. The film allowed me to pay for my trip and arrive here in France” he says on France Inter.
By clicking on“I accept”you accept the deposit of cookies by external services and will thus have access to the content of our partners.
More information on the Cookie management policy page
I accept
He arrived in France in 2017 at the age of 16. Although he initially settled in Paris, he decided not to stay in the capital for fear of controls. He decides to follow a group of people to Gare du Nord and finally arrives in Amiens.
Many outstretched hands
In Amiens, many people helped him. Thanks to the work of the associations, he learned to read and write. “They helped me enroll in second year, for a professional baccalaureate in heavy goods vehicle maintenance, and I obtained my baccalaureate in this field” he says on France Inter. His dream? Become a mechanic. Having graduated, he tried to continue his apprenticeship training, but was forced to give up due to lack of regularization.
Not having a birth certificate, he struggles to be recognized as a minor child. When he finally takes a bone test to determine his age, he is already 18 years old. His requests for regularization are refused one after the other.
In 2023, while he was working as a volunteer in the migrant aid association, he received information that a film crew was looking for a Guinean. What follows is the meeting with Boris Lojkine, the shooting of the film, and the prize at Cannes. For director Boris Lojkine, the film will be finished when Abou Sangaré has his papers: “When we take someone who doesn’t belong to the cinema and we bring him into a film project, it’s a wonderful story but it’s also a big responsibility,” recalls Boris Lojkine on the set of It’s up to you.
By clicking on“I accept”you accept the deposit of cookies by external services and will thus have access to the content of our partners.
More information on the Cookie management policy page
I accept
Shining a light on stories normally ignored
“The Story of Souleymane” and jointly that of Abou Sangaré, highlight stories that are often ignored. “I find it very unfortunate that some people are exploiting a news item to have a negative discourse on immigration,” he explains in an interview with Parisian. The film intends to put stories, faces and humanity into discussions that are often too abstract.”
If this film was a unique opportunity for the young 23-year-old Guinean, he remains true to himself. “My dream is to give back to all the people of Amiens at least part of what they gave me, which is to be able to enter the company that offers me work. » he concludes with Release.
