Streaming
  • February 12, 2021 through February 25, 2021
New Restoration

“A crafty and masterful look at neocolonialism, with a wicked sense of humour that doesn’t soothe its bitter sting … You’ll be surprised at how enjoyable this film is, and saddened that the subject is still relevant.”

Radheyan Simonpillai, Now Magazine

A milestone of postcolonial African cinema, Mauritanian director Med Hondo’s inventive, incendiary 1970 feature shared the Golden Leopard at Locarno and announced a major new talent. Newly restored by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, it is now ripe for rediscovery. ​“A furious howl of resistance against racist oppression, Hondo’s debut is a bitterly funny, stylistically explosive attack on Western capitalism and the legacy of colonialism. Laced with deadly irony and righteous anger, Soleil Ô follows a starry-eyed immigrant (Robert Liensol) as he leaves West Africa and journeys to Paris in search of a job and cultural enrichment—but soon discovers a hostile society in which his very presence elicits fear and resentment. Drawing on the freewheeling stylistic experimentation of the French New Wave, Hondo deploys a dizzying array of narrative and stylistic techniques—animation, docudrama, dream sequences, musical numbers, folklore, slapstick comedy, agitprop—to create a revolutionary landmark of political cinema and a shattering vision of awakening Black consciousness” (Janus Films).

To stream this film:
Click on the ​“Stream” button above.
This will take you to Janus Films’s streaming platform, where you can watch the film.
Purchase a virtual ticket for $10 USD (you may need to create an account first).
Once a virtual ticket has been purchased, you have seven days to start watching the film.
Once you begin, you have 72 hours to finish watching.
If you are having technical issues with the stream, please click here.
This film is available to stream in Canada only.

Your ticket purchase supports The Cinematheque.

“The African Auteur You Need to See … Hondo’s films are virtually impossible to find and more relevant than ever … Soleil Ô jumpstarted an underutilized sub-genre of dark comedy and in-your-face brutality, later capitalized by descendants such as Spike Lee.”

Rooney Elmi, TIFF

“Rarely has a first film felt so powerful, so effervescent, and so rich as testimony.”

Bernard Cohn, Positif
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