"Lingui, The Sacred Bonds" movie premieres at the Cannes Film Festival

Chad director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun has premiered his latest movie att the Cannes Film Festival.

"Lingui, The Sacred Bonds" is set in N'djamena - the capital of Chad - and follows Amina and her daughter Maria who on the outskirts of society because Amina is a single mother.

Actors Achouackh Abakar Souleymane and Rihane Khalil Alio portray the mother and daughter. They joined their director on the red stairs of the Palais building ahead of the gala screening, Thursday (8 JULY 2021).

In 2010, Haroun won the jury prize for his film, "A Screaming Man" which looked at a troubled relationship between a father and his son.

In "Lingui, The Sacred Bonds," which is one of 24 films competing for the Palme d'Or in Cannes, Haroun redresses the balance by concentrating on the female experience in Chad, and by paying tribute to their resolve and relationships.

It’s been eight years since director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was last in the Cannes Film Festival’s main competition lineup with his 2013 drama “Grisgris,” 

In the six festivals between “Grisgris” and “Lingui,” Cannes’ main competition has dismayingly included a grand total of three African films: “Timbuktu” in 2014, “Yomeddine” in 2018 and “Atlantics” in 2019. (By contrast, there are 14 European films in this year’s competition alone.)

The Cannes Film Festival runs until Saturday 17 July 2021.