Saint Omer stunned viewers during this year’s Venice Film Festival and is expected to dominate awards season. The touching drama has won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, and will soon be released to a wider audience. The movie tells the story of a writer who attends a young woman’s trial accused of murdering her infant daughter. It becomes increasingly challenging for the writer to trust her own judgment as the trial unfolds. Among the actors are Kayije Kagame and Guslagie Malanda.
Saint Omer was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Alice Diop, along with Amrita David and Marie NDiaye, who co-wrote the script with her. Diop, who previously worked on documentary films, makes her narrative feature film debut. The movie is scheduled to hit movie theaters on January 13. Here’s what the synopsis describes:
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“Saint Omer court of law. Young novelist Rama attends the trial of Laurence Coly, a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her to the rising tide on a beach in northern France. But as the trial continues, the words of the accused and witness testimonies will shake Rama’s convictions and call into question our own judgment.”
The True Inspiration Behind Saint Omer
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In a recent conversation with ScreenDaily, Alice Diop revealed that her first fiction screenplay was inspired by a real-life infanticide case. In addition, she explained what it means for her to be recognized for her commitment to challenging stereotypes.
She explained her interest in the news story about a Paris crime scene at Gare du Nord train station. Reporters covered the story of a woman pushing a stroller carrying a baby of mixed ethnicity. The woman in question was Senegalese immigrant Fabienne Kabou who admitted to abandoning her child on a French beach. Her intrigue and an inexplicable sense of connection to the case drove Diop to the trial. Diop was stunned by what he saw during the court proceedings. She also noticed that other women who came to watch the trial seemed affected as well.
As France’s official submission to the international feature film Oscar category, Saint Omer has the chance to gain even broader exposure. As a result of last year’s movie Titane not taking the prize, France has not won the category since 1993 with Régis Wargnier’s Indochine. Additionally, Diop mentioned that recognition also means exploring various horizons regarding the types of films that can succeed.
