Author: Newsroom
NEW YORK, NY (March 1, 2023) – Cinedigm has acquired North American rights to Ellie Foumbi’s acclaimed narrative feature debut OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL (“Mon père, le diable”). The elegant moral thriller premiered at the Venice Film Festival and has since won several Best Narrative and Audience Awards, including at Tribeca, Mill Valley, Hamptons, Sidewalk, Tallgrass, New Orleans, Heartland, Indie Memphis, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. This weekend, the film competes for the top “Best Feature” prize at the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards.
The film will be released theatrically by Cinedigm later this year, followed by an exclusive streaming release on the company’s indie discovery platform Fandor.
OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL stars a riveting Babetida Sadjo as Marie, the head chef at a retirement home in small-town France. Her easy day-to-day life spent caring for residents, hanging out with her co-worker and best friend Nadia (Jennifer Tchiakpe), and teasing a potential new romance is disrupted by the arrival of Father Patrick (former Spirit Award nominee Souleìymane Sy Savané, GOODBYE SOLO), an African priest whom she recognizes from a terrifying episode in her homeland. As he further endears himself to the residents and staff, Marie decides how best to deal with this reminder of her troubled past.
“I’m so excited to be collaborating with Cinedigm for the release of my first feature. This project was a labor of love on many fronts, and its distribution is no exception. It’s especially gratifying because they have been in our corner for a long time, and I believe they are the perfect home for us,” stated director Foumbi.
“Couching emotionally heavy material in suspenseful genre pleasures shows just how sophisticated and psychologically nuanced OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL truly is,” said Aaron Hillis, Director of Programming for Cinedigm. “Ellie Foumbi is a fierce new talent, and let me call my shot now to say: I believe one day she’ll win an Academy Award.”
Producers include Foumbi and Joseph Mastantuono. The deal was negotiated by Brandon Hill, Director of Acquisitions, on behalf of Cinedigm and UTA on behalf of the filmmakers.