Atlantics

Zombie visual cues bejewel a story of profound loss in Mati Diop's beguiling, supernatural drama.

A group of women are left behind in Dakar when their lovers take to the sea in search of their fortunes – each owed months of wages for construction work. Ada (Mame Bineta Sane), who has been enjoying a clandestine love affair with Souleiman, is left to mourn his absence in silence as a loveless, arranged marriage fast approaches. As for the other women, they are left to inherit their lovers' legacies in other, darker ways.

Curator's Note

French-Senegalese director Mati Diop's feature film debut as director is an enchanting drama tiptoeing around the horror genre. In 2009, she directed a short film of the same name about a group of Senegalese men embarking on a perilous sea voyage. Here, ten years later she returns to and expands upon the film's premise, shifting the focus to the group of women left behind.

Atlantics premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 where Mati Diop became the first woman of colour to have a film screening in competition.

– Reece Goodwin; Curator (Film & TV)