Festivals - Sundance Film Festival 2021 : Night of the kings will have its world premiere

By Mulder, 01 january 2021

Philippe Lacôte’s gripping second feature, Night of the Kings, has won acclaim at major festivals since premiering at the Venice International Film Festival. We’re thrilled to share his singular vision with Sundance audiences. A new arrival at Ivory Coast’s infamous MACA prison is quickly anointed the institution’s “Roman”—a griot instructed to tell stories for the population at the command of reigning inmate king, the ailing Blackbeard. Roman must ascertain his place in the prison’s dangerously shifting inmate politics, embrace his inner Scheherazade, and weave a tale that will get them all through the night and stave off impending chaos.

Night of the Kings is a bold, imaginative ode to the power of storytelling and a layered, compelling portrait of the complexities of life within the prison walls. Roman’s desperately woven tales cleverly embody the turmoil surrounding him, and Lacôte enhances their fantastical and dramatic effect by interjecting glorious cinematic depictions of the boy’s imaginings. The horde of listening prisoners transforms into a makeshift chorus, translating the tales into song and dance, intensifying the film’s enthralling effect.

Night of the kings (France/Ivory Coast/Canada/Senegal)
Written and directed by Philippe Lacôte
Produced by Delphine Jaquet, Yanick Létourneau, Ernest Konan, Yoro Mbaye
Starring Koné Bakary, Steve Tientcheu, Digbeu Jean Cyrille, Rasmané Ouédraogo, Issaka Sawadogo, Denis Lavant
Music by Olivier Alary
Sound Designer : Pierre-Jules Audet
Sound Mixer : Emmanuel Croset
Production Designer : Samuel Teisseire
Costume Designer : Hanna Sjödin
Cinematography : Tobie Marier Robitaille
Edited by Aube Foglia
Distributed by Neon
Release date : February 2, 2021 (Sundance)
Running time : 93 minutes

Premiere : feb. 2 - 12:00am // Second screening : feb. 3 - 4:00pm (local time)

(Source : press release)