Baloji Constructed ‘Omen’, His Feature Debut And Belgium’s Oscar Entry, Using A Wall Of Mirrors – Contenders International
09.12.2023 - 21:29
/ deadline.com
Omen is the official submission from Belgium for the International Feature Oscar category and comes from multi-hyphenate interdisciplinary artist Baloji, who makes his feature directing debut. The film had its world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section this year where it won the New Voice Prize, before going on to play myriad festivals. Utopia is the North American distributor.
Omen uses magical realism to examine the intricacies of identity, culture and belief systems. It kicks off with, and often returns to, the story of Koffi (Marc Zinga), a young Congolese man who has spent years living in Belgium. With his pregnant wife in tow, he returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront his family and homeland culture. But secrecy and sorcery erupt when a nosebleed is mistaken for a curse.
His family includes independent spirit sister Tshala played by Eliane Umuhire, and mother Mama Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua). Along with street kid Paco (Marcel Otete Kabeya), a quartet of mirrored characters emerges.
The film’s modern narrative employs four main characters to reach back to the past and look into the future. “I didn’t want to make a movie about Koffi, I didn’t want to make a movie about going home,” Baloji said during a panel alongside Umuhire at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International. “Koffi is part of the privilege, he has a passport, he can go back to Europe even if it’s difficult for him. He has a wife and he’s about to become a parent which is not the case for his mom.”
Mama Mujila “doesn’t know that she has the freedom to make decisions for herself, and I thought it was interesting that we think that she’s the mean person, but at the end of the day we understand that she’s the first victim and what
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