Senegal, France, Mali, Qatar / 2023 / 87mins / Drama / Pulaar, French

Banel and Adama are young adults in their late teens who live in a remote village in northern Senegal. Adama is quiet and introverted, while Banel is passionate and rebellious. Adama and Banel fall in love and decide to live separately from their families so that they can live together. When Adama refuses to fulfil his birthright to serve as the village's future leader, chaos ensues in the community.

Ramata-Toulaye Sy

Ramata-Toulaye Sy is a French-Senegalese film director and screenwriter. She was born in Bezons, Paris to Senegalese parents. She studied at La Fémis in Paris, graduating in 2015. She lived in Dakar, Senegal for several years after graduation. Sy's 2021 short film Astel was the winner of the Share Her Journey award at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, and the SACD Award and a Special Jury Prize at the 2022 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

Sy was a cowriter of the feature films Sibel and Our Lady of the Nile (Notre-Dame-du-Nil) , before making Astel as her first directorial project.

Her feature debut, Banel & Adama, entered production in 2022, premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and was also screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. The film received praise from critics who described it as an expressive debut from a promising director. Learn More