Félicité is élicitéa 2017 Senegalese drama film set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and directed by Alain Gomis. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. At Berlin, the film won the Jury Grand Prix award. At the 2017 Africa Movie Academy Awards, it won six awards which is the highest for a film in the history of the award ceremony, including categories for best film, best actress, best supporting actor, best editing, best soundtrack and best film in an African language.
It was selected as the Senegalese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist. It was the first time Senegal had sent a film for consideration for the Best Foreign Language film.
Plot
The film tells the story of how a bar entertainer struggles to get funds after her child is hospitalized.
Cast
Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu as Félicité
Gaetan Claudia as Samo
Papi Mpaka as Tabu
Nadine Ndebo as Hortense
Elbas Manuana as Luisant
Kasai Allstars as themselves
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 98% based on 46 reviews, and an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Félicité depicts a culture and a setting unfamiliar to many viewers, but its themes - and Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu's performance - transcend borders". On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score, the film holds a score of 75 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "rough and heartfelt".
See also
List of submissions to the 90th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
List of Senegalese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film