Country: Belgium, Congo, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, South Africa
Year: 2023
Duration: 90'
Omen is an ensemble film about four eople accused of being witches and sorcerers. Despite their misfortune they find the way to guide each other away from their socially imposed destinies and into the phantasmagoria of Africa
Biography
film director
Baloji .
(Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, 1978) is an award-winning musician, filmmaker, a polymath artist. He’s working as art director, costume designer for fashion and other visual art forms. As a filmmaker, Baloji released his first feature film Omen, which premiered at Cannes, in 2023, accompanied by a four-part soundtrack where each record is written from the point of view of the main characters. The project is also accompanied by a traveling exhibition project featuring the costume designs and photos of the project. As a musician, Baloji has released two critically acclaimed albums and two EPs, the latest, Avenue Kaniama, on Bella Union Records.
FILMOGRAFIA
Peau de Chagrin/Bleu de Nuit (cm, 2018), Kaniama Show (cm, 2018), Zombies (cm, 2019), Augure (Omen, 2023).
Declaration
film director
“In Swahili, my name Baloji means ‘sorcerer,’ or even ‘sorcerer who can take all the other sorcerers’ powers.’ It’s an awful name, really. It’s like being named ‘Devil’ or ‘Demon’ in Belgium. So because of my name, and because people used to label me as a sorcerer, I’ve always been fascinated by witchcraft, and by people who are seen as different. That’s why Koffi, the main character in the movie, has a port-wine stain on his face: I wanted to visualize the weight of that label.”
Cast
& Credits
DDIRECTOR, SCREENPLAY: Baloji. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Joaquim Philippe. EDITING: Bruno Tracq, Bertrand Conard. PRODUCTION DESIGN: Eve Martin. COSTUME DESIGN: Elke Hoste, Baloji. SOUND: Jan Deca, Erik Griekspoor, Danny Van Spreuwel. CAST: Marc Zinga, Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire, Yves-Marina Gnahoua, Marcel Otete Kabeya. PRODUCER: Benoit Roland. PRODUCTION: Anonymes Films, Big World Cinema, New Amsterdam Film Company, Red Sea Film Festival Foundation, Serendipity Films, Tosala Films, Wrong Men North.
CONTACT: I Wonder Pictures distribution@iwonderpictures.it
