The Film Verdict: What was your reaction when you found out your film had been selected in the main competition, which is unusual for first features?
Ramata-Toulaye Sy: I was surprised. [Thierry Frémaux’s deputy] Christian Jeune called me a little after midnight, the night before the press conference, and at first I thought it was a joke because when they first invited us, a few months ago, it was for Un Certain Regard. I guess they were trying to keep the Competition slot a surprise, because people would say to me they had heard we were selected in Un Certain Regard. The funny thing is, we’d already had posters and flyers made with the section printed on it, so we had to change them! (laughs).
TFV: Frémaux referred to this year’s selection as featuring a resurgence of African cinema. How does it feel to be part of that new generation?
RTS: I’m thrilled and honored. Then again, I wish it wouldn’t be considered a big deal when multiple African films are selected. It should be normal: there are many great films produced in Africa every year, and they deserve to be spotlighted at festivals.
TFV: Previous films you’ve worked on have played in Locarno, Toronto and Clermont-Ferrand, among others. How is Cannes going to compare?
RTS: I didn’t attend any festivals for the films where I was a co-writer because they don’t usually invite us. I did go to a few for my short film Astel, but not that many and basically just in France and Belgium because I started working on Banel & Adama immediately after finishing the short, I did them back-to-back. So this is going to be my first major festival premiere experience.
TFV: This was your graduation script at [Paris-based film school] La Fémis in 2015. Did it stay the same, or were there changes over the years?
RTS: A few things changed, on account of my having gained experience as a writer and a director in the interim, but the essence of it, the story of this young woman in Senegal, stayed the same.
TFV: What was the most challenging aspect of making the film?
RTS: Shooting on location in Senegal. We were in this village in the northern part of the country, and the temperatures were around 50 degrees Celsius on a daily basis. Everybody got sick at some point, even my main actress, and she’s from the region. In fact, the entire cast consists of non-professionals from the area.
TFV: You co-wrote Sibell, a Turkish film, and Our Lady of the Nile, a Rwandan film. After the Senegalese experience, will you try something different again for your next project?
RTS: Definitely. I like switching things up and not repeating myself. I might work on something set in France. I have dual nationality, I travel to Senegal whenever I can because my family is from there, but I was also born and raised in France, so there’s that side of me to explore as well.
