Adding to my upcoming projects to watch list is Côte d'Ivoire native Philippe Lacôte, who'll be making his feature film debut with a project titled Run, which was one of 15 projects selected for the upcoming Cannes L’Atelier – an initiative which runs during the Cannes Film Festival aimed at finding financing for projects by upcoming directors that are in an advanced state of development.

Here's a synopsis for Run:

Run is running away… He has just killed his country’s prime minister. To escape, he has taken on the face and clothes of a madman, wandering throughout the town for months. Run speaks of his “transformation into a madman.” He tells the tale of his chaotic journey, like that of the Ivory Coast, by deliberately placing himself beyond the edge of reason. His life returns to him in flashes: his childhood with Master Tourou, when he dreamt of becoming a rainmaker; his incredible adventures with Greedy Gladys, and his past in the militia as a Young Patriot. Run has not chosen all of these lives. He has stumbled into them, escaping from one life to another. This is why he is called “Run.”

Sold! I'm in… even though I'm not at all familiar with any of the director's previous work, which comprises of shorts and documentaries. 

I did find a 2004 short film he co-directed, online, which I embedded below.

His feature debut, Run, has already been the recipient of a number of money awards, grants and such, including a CNC grant and the Pitching Prize in the Amiens Festival 2011.

Watch the 2004 short film he co-directed, titled Affaire Libinski, below: