The Story of Souleymane, Boris Lojkine's social drama led by Abou Sangaré, airs on ARTE on Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 9:00 PM. Released in theaters on October 9, 2024, the film will also be available for free on arte.tv starting September 2.
In Paris, Souleymane works as a bike courier for a food-delivery platform. Without a residence permit and housed in a reception center, the young Guinean has two days to prepare his asylum interview with OFPRA. As he weaves through the city to take on back-to-back orders, he rehearses a tale that was dictated to him to boost his chances of getting papers, though he can’t quite own it.
The film follows almost in real time Souleymane’s movements, from his shifts in wealthy neighbourhoods to the ride that takes him each night to his lodging. Boris Lojkine thus turns the lens on the working conditions of undocumented delivery workers, the illegal subletting of app accounts, and the administrative hurdles that will shape their future in France.
Our take on The Story of Souleymane
At the crossroads of tragic destinies, the film follows two days in the life of Souleymane (Abou Sangare), a Guinean bike courier who is gearing up for his asylum application interview—the gateway to papers that would let him stay in France. While tirelessly pedaling through Paris to deliver meals, Souleymane repeats a story that isn’t his (he’s been told to claim he’s a political opponent to secure asylum), but he isn’t ready.
In an ultra-naturalistic style, almost documentary-like, Boris Lojkine turns his lens to those we barely notice even as we pass them every day. These bike couriers who haunt the city’s chic districts without ever going past the building lobbies, whom no one really looks in the eye as they retrieve a door-delivered meal.
From this harrowing journey that continues after crossing the French border, after a perilous trek, the director lays bare every facet of Souleymane’s daily life: sprinting to catch the metro, the RER and the bus that drop him at a reception center, dialing 115 at dawn to secure a bed for the night, the perversion of certain clients—hard to shake the sense that some of these encounters could be filmed as hidden-camera moments—police intimidation, and more.
But perhaps the hardest part is the inhumanity shown by minorities against one another, when it comes to exploiting a fellow human by renting a production account on delivery apps for a princely sum and profiting off the undocumented. A chain of wretched situations, and yet Souleymane keeps his head held high, delivered through a masterful, heartbreaking performance by Abou Sangare.
Review written by Manon
Presented in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, L’Histoire de Souleymane took home the Jury Prize. Abou Sangaré also won the Best Actor award in the lineup for his portrayal of Souleymane.
The film went on to clinch four César Awards in 2025: Best Emerging Male Talent for Abou Sangaré, Best Supporting Actress for Nina Meurisse, Best Original Screenplay for Boris Lojkine and Delphine Agut, and Best Editing for Xavier Sirven. Full details of the winners are available on the César Academy website.
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