Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. The young couple lives in a remote village in northern Senegal. For them, nothing else exists except each other. But for the rest of their tight-knit village, duty dictates that Adama soon accept the role of chief. The two lovers have other plans… until something in the air changes. The rains do not come; the cattle begin to die; the men leave. A rare debut feature that premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and Senegal’s official submission to the Academy Awards®, Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Banel & Adama is a lush and lyrical fable that soars to the heights of longing and descends deep into the realm of myth, sending its protagonists’ idyllic love on a collision course with their community’s customs. Because in this world, there is no room for passion, let alone chaos. IndieWire says the film is “a striking debut that puts Sy on the map as a purveyor of deceptively gorgeous visions that show flimsy desires at the mercy of the social, and literal, weather.”
“Banel & Adama is a distressingly searing love story that moves to its own rhythms, curiosities, impulses, and havoc for a shrewd picture of the heavy balance between loyalty to one’s community and devotion to each other.” – Rotten Tomatoes
“An ethereal tone sets the stage for an increasingly desperate fable on dreams distilled and the eroding friction of resistance. There’s a timeless quality to its minimalist nature, but Sy’s film feels anything but spare.” – Rotten Tomatoes
Chosen as Senegal’s 2024 Oscars submission for the best international feature.
