The short film Ousmane by Jorge Camarotti won Best Drama at the prestigious Aspen Shortsfest, qualifying it for a pre-selection for the Oscars®.
Screened as a World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, then at the Festival du nouveau cinéma and at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, Ousmane was nominated at the most recent Canadian Screen Awards in the Best Live Action Short Drama category. The film is also nominated for the Gala Prends ça court!, which will take place on April 29.
This month, Ousmane will be screened at the Seattle International Film Festival from April 14 to 24, and at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, on April 22 at Cinéma Le Capitol in Drummondville, and on April 26 at the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montréal.
The film follows an immigrant who misses his native country, Ousmane, who helps an elderly neighbour who is lonely and confused. It 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.
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 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, for which he is part of the 2022 cohort of La Forge Québec Cinéma, presented by Netflix.
OUSMANE
Starring Issaka Sawadogo, Marie-Ginette Guay, Nadine Jean, Kloé-Cassandre Bell, Marie-Louise Bell and Souleymane Darmon
Short film, 25 minutes, 2021, Quebec (Canada. In its original French version – with English subtitles
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
