Here’s a look at Côte d’Ivoire native Philippe Lacôte’s feature film debut, Run, which made its world premiere at the ongoing 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, in the Un Certain Regard sidebar – a program created to recognize young, promising talent and to encourage innovative and daring storytelling on film. At the end of the festival, one of the films from the category will be honored with a grant to aid in its distribution in France, and Lacôte’s Run just might be the winning film.
The film’s synopsis reads:
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.”
The film’s starring cast includes Isaach de Bankole (likely the most familiar to American audiences; he recently starred in Andrew Dosunmu’s Mother Of George), Abdoul Karim Konate (he starred in Bamba Souleymane’s Burn It Up Djassa) and Rasmane Ouedraogo (the veteran featured in films like Ousmane Sembene’s Moolaadé).
The fact that the film was selected for the Cannes L’Atelier film financing summit 2 years ago, made it an all-too obvious pick for the festival (as I noted in my predictions list).
By the way, a short film by director Lacôte is currently traveling with the African Metropolis initiative, which features 7 African directors, each exploring their own “African Metropolis” on film. This should give Stateside audiences a first glimpse at the filmmaker’s work, while we wait for his feature debut, Run, to reach our shores. The African Metropolis series of shorts will next screen at the Seattle International Film Festival next month, for those of you in that area.
Watch 3 new clips from Run below (sadly, they aren’t subtitled in English, but, at least they give you a preview of the film’s look. And the images do help tell what’s happening in each scene):
