''Xalé'' is a 2022 Senegalese

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Moussa Sene Absa Moussa Sene Absa, Moussa Sène Absa, or Moussa Sène Absa (proper name: Moussa Sène) is a Senegalese film director, editor, producer, screenwriter, painter and songwriter.Africa Cultures ''Biography'' He was born in 1958 in Tableau Ferraille, a ...

. It is the third film of the director's trilogy focused on women, following ''

Tableau Ferraille Tableau Ferraille is a 1997 Senegalese film written and directed by Moussa Sene Absa. Set in a seaside town near Dakar called ''Tableau Ferraille'', or "Scrap Heap," the film depicts the political career of ambitious Daam, played by Ismaël Lô, w ...

'' (1995) and ''L'Extraordinaire destin de Madame Brouette'' (2002). In October 2022, the Oscars selection committee of Senegal announced the film as the country's submission to the ''95th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film''''.''

Plot

Set in Dakar in a time-shifting chronology, the film follows the story of two 15-year-old twins Awa (Nguissaly Barry) and Adama (Mabeye Diol). Awa is focused on her academics while her brother, Adama, hopes to emigrate to Europe. Following the death of their grandmother, they are put in the charge of their uncle Atoumane (Ibrahima M’Baye). In accordance with the grandmother's dying wish, Atoumane marries his resistant cousin Fatou ( Rokhaya Niang). Her rejection of him prompts Atoumane to take out his frustration on Awa with life-altering consequences for both of them.

Cast

* Nguissaly Barry as Awa * Mabeye Diol as Adama * Ibrahima M'Baye as Atoumane * Rokhaya Niang as Fatou

Release and screening

It premiered at the London Film Festival. The film was also screened at

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

and

Mill Valley Film Festival The Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) is an annual film festival organized by the California Film Institute. It takes place each October in Mill Valley, California, and welcomes more than 200 filmmakers, representing more than 50 countries, each ...

where it had its US premiere.

References

External links

Xale
on IMDb {{Senegalese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film 2022 films 2020s French-language films 2022 thriller films Senegalese drama films Wolof-language films Ivorian drama films