The Cinematheque

Belgium

“Omen announces its writer-director as an artist of significant formal imagination and daring … [The film’s] larger atmospheric payoff lingers.”

Guy Lodge, Variety

A tour de force of magical realism from Belgian-Congolese rapper-turned-filmmaker Baloji Tshiani, Omen uses enigmatic storytelling and stunning imagery to tell the story of a Congolese man’s traumatic homecoming. Koffi (Marc Zinga) travels back to Kinshasa to introduce his family to his pregnant European girlfriend, only to be faced with the same accusations of witchcraft that spurred his exile in the first place. Baloji’s mesmerising debut is replete with intersecting stories and shifting meanings that evoke heartbreak and horror in equal measure. Baloji collaborated with Elke Hoste on the Central African-inspired costume design, which was featured in an exhibition at the MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp.

In French, English, Lingala, and Swahili with English subtitles

Un Certain Regard New Voice Prize
Cannes 2023