American Indie Films News

Not so Recent Past: Cinedigm Gives a Second Chance to Foumbi’s “Our Father, the Devil”

Published on March 2, 2023

With Independent Spirit festivities only days away, the Cinedigm folks have landed the North American rights to the surprise film nominated in the Best Feature category of the awards show. A 2021 Venice Film Festival selection in the Biennale College Cinema sidebar and a Tribeca Film Fest favorite, Ellie Foumbi‘s Our Father, the Devil (Mon père, le diable) will receive a theatrical push later this year.

Starring Babetida Sadjo as Marie, the head chef at a retirement home in small-town France. Her easy day-to-day life spent caring for residents, hanging out with her co-worker and best friend Nadia (Jennifer Tchiakpe), and teasing a potential new romance is disrupted by the arrival of Father Patrick (Souleìymane Sy Savané – from Ramin Bahrani’s Goodbye Solo fame), an African priest whom she recognizes from a terrifying episode in her homeland. As he further endears himself to the residents and staff, Marie is forced to decide how best to deal with this reminder of her troubled past.

Related Topics:Ellie Foumbi, Our Father the Devil, top-stories

Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).