Ivory Coast's official submission for this year's Oscars,
writer/director Philippe Lacôte's Night of the Kings is an
unconventional prison drama. Koné Bakary plays a young man interned in the country's most
infamous prison, one effectively ruled by its inmates. There he is chosen
by the resident "King" (Steve Tientcheu) to take part in a storytelling ritual, which sees
him placed in the middle of a potentially dangerous power play.
Night of the Kings is in UK/ROI cinemas from July 23rd.
Check out the UK trailer, poster and listen to Olivier Alary's score below.
The official synopsis reads:
When a young man (first-timer Koné Bakary) is sent to an infamous prison, located in the middle of the Ivorian forest and ruled by its inmates, he is chosen by the boss 'Blackbeard' (Steve Tientcheu, BAFTA and Academy-Award nominated LES MISÉRABLES) to take part in a storytelling ritual just as a violent battle for control bubbles to the surface. After discovering the grim fate that awaits him at the end of the night, Roman begins to narrate the mystical life of a legendary outlaw to make his story last until dawn and give himself any chance of survival.
