“Night of the Kings” (La Nuit des rois) was the film Côte d’Ivoire submitted for the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. It was one of the 15 shortlisted international feature films announced on February 9, 2021.
A drama film, “Night of the Kings” is about a young male pickpocket sent to the Maison d’Arrêt et de Correction d’Abidjan (MACA) prison in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He needs to compel the other prisoners with his storytelling for him to survive.
Written and directed by Philippe Lacôte, “Night of the Kings” is 93 minutes long. Here is the list of its cast members:
- Bakary Koné
- Steve Tientcheu
- Jean Cyrille Digbeu
- Rasmané Ouédraogo
- Issaka Sawadogo
- Abdoul Karim Konaté
- Macel Anzian
- Laetitia Ky
- Denis Lavant
- Zunon François Lopez
- Narcisse Aféli
- Drabo Arouna
- Jean Marcel Brou Daboiko
- Sandrine Digbeu
- Lago Woroka Gilles
Including “Night of the Kings,” 97 films were submitted for the 2021 Oscar Award for Best International Feature Film but only 93 films were accepted. Three countries submitted a film for the first time namely Lesotho, Sudan and Suriname, whose respective entries were “This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection,” “You Will Die at Twenty” and “Wiren.”
After 21 years of not submitting, Bhutan sent “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” but it did not appear on the final list. “Héliopolis” of Algeria also did not make it to the final list while “Persian Lessons” of Belarus and “2000 Songs of Farida” of Uzbekistan were disqualified.
Majority of individuals involved in making “Persian Lessons” are not from Belarus while “2000 Songs of Farida” was not submitted by the deadline of December 1, 2020. Here is the complete list of the 15 shortlisted films:
|
COUNTRY |
FILM | DIRECTOR | WRITER/S |
LANGUAGE/S |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | “Quo Vadis, Aida?” | Jasmila Žbanić | Jasmila Žbanić | Bosnian, English, Croatian, Serbian, Dutch |
| Chile | “The Mole Agent” (El agente topo) | Maite Alberdi | Maite Alberdi | Spanish |
| Côte d’Ivoire | “Night of the Kings” (La Nuit des rois) | Philippe Lacôte | Philippe Lacôte | Dyula, French |
| Czech Republic | “Charlatan” (Šarlatán) | Agnieszka Holland | Marek Epstein | Czech |
| Denmark | “Another Round” (Druk) | Thomas Vinterberg | Thomas Vinterberg, Tobias Lindholm | Danish |
| France | “Two of Us” (Deux) | Filippo Meneghetti | Filippo Meneghetti, Malysone Bovorasmy | French, German |
| Guatemala | “La Llorona” | Jayro Bustamante | Jayro Bustamante, Lisandro Sanchez | Spanish, Mayan-Caqchickel, Mayan-Ixil |
| Hong Kong | “Better Days” (少年的你) | Derek Tsang | Lam Wing Sum, Li Yuan, Xu Yimeng | Mandarin Chinese |
| Iran | “Sun Children” (خورشید) | Majid Majidi | Majid Majidi, Nima Javidi | Persian |
| Mexico | “I’m No Longer Here” (Ya no estoy aquí) | Fernando Frias de la Parra | Fernando Frias de la Parra | Spanish |
| Norway | “Hope” (Håp) | Maria Sødahl | Maria Sødahl | Norwegian, Swedish |
| Romania | “Collective” (Colectiv) | Alexander Nanau | Alexander Nanau, Antoaneta Opriș | Romanian |
| Russia | “Dear Comrades!” (Дорогие товарищи!) | Andrey Konchalovskiy | Andrey Konchalovskiy, Elena Kiseleva | Russian |
| Taiwan | “A Sun” (陽光普照) | Chung Mong-hong | Chung Mong-hong, Chang Yao-sheng | Mandarin Chinese |
| Tunisia | “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (L’Homme qui a vendu sa peau) | Kaouther Ben Hania | Kaouther Ben Hania | Arabic, English, French |
Categories: Africa, Entertainment, Ivory Coast
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