The short film Ousmane by Jorge Camarotti is in official competition at the 50th Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC), which runs from October 6 to 17.
The film stars Issaka Sawadogo, who has been seen in Diego Star by Frédérick Pelletier (Best Actor Award, Festival du nouveau cinéma 2013) as well as in Samba by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, alongside Omar Sy and Charlotte Gainsbourg. In this new film, he plays an immigrant who misses his native country, Ousmane, who helps an elderly neighbour who is lonely and confused (Marie-Ginette Guay).
Ousmane will be screened at Cinema du Musée on Saturday, October 9 at 8:30 p.m., as part of National Competition 3, with the filmmaker in attendance. It will also be available online on the FNC platform from October 6 to 31.
Synopsis
Feeling uprooted and looking for a purpose, Ousmane, a newly arrived Burkinabé immigrant living in Montreal, sees his life take a turn when he meets an elderly, disoriented lady, Edith, at the end of a long workday. After learning about Edith’s terrible living conditions, but not fully understanding what the task entails, he naively decides to take on the role of her caregiver as if she was his own mother.
About the filmmaker Jorge Camarotti
Born in a working-class family in Sao Paulo, Jorge Camarotti moved to Montreal in 2003, where he pursued a career as a professional photographer and then as a filmmaker. When he arrived, he spoke neither English nor French, and learned both languages at the same time. Since then, Jorge has directed a dozen short films, both documentary and fiction, always remaining true to giving voice to the most aggrieved individuals of our society. He wrote and directed Kinship (2019), which was selected in many reputable film festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, and for which he received a nomination at the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Live Action Short Drama. Jorge is now working on his first feature film, Edith.
OUSMANE
Short film, 25 minutes, 2021, Quebec (Canada)
In its original French version – with English subtitles
Starring Issaka Sawadogo, Marie-Ginette Guay, Nadine Jean, Kloé-Cassandre Bell, Marie-Louise Bell and Souleymane Darmon
Director: Jorge Camarotti | Script: Jorge Camarotti | Cinematography: Nicolas Canniccioni | Editing: Jorge Camarotti | Art direction: Ludovic Dufresne | Sound design: Brian D’Oliveira | Mix: Isabelle Lussier | Sound Recording: Stéphane Barsalou | Production: GoodNeighbours Productions (Sébastien Poussard, Jorge Camarotti) | Distribution: SPIRA
Website: spira.quebec/en/film/531-ousmane.html
Facebook: facebook.com/FilmOusmane
Ousmane at FNC: nouveaucinema.ca/en/films/ousmane