All Love Stories Are Ghost Stories
In a dusty Dakar, 17-year-old Ada is in love with young construction worker Souleiman, but her family has promised her to another man. The couple's passionate, secret love affair is not enough to prevent what inevitably awaits them: Ada must enter a loveless marriage, while Souleiman must leave Senegal and embark on a perilous journey across the sea in search of work in Europe. Mati Diop's Atlantics is steeped in elements of horror and ghost story, a triumphant film brimming with love, migration politics, and loss.
Atlantics premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. Not only did Mati Diop become the first woman of colour to have a film in competition — the film also won the Grand Prix.
The screening will be preceded by a short introduction in English by Asbjørn Grønstad, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Bergen.