SILVER

[AUGURE]
Inspired by rapper-turned-filmmaker Baloji's own diasporic experience, OMEN follows 30-something Koffi as he returns home to the Democratic Republic of the Congo after many years of living abroad in Belgium. Rejected by his family since childhood for his "cursed" birthmark, Koffi is desperately seeking their blessing now that he's engaged to be married and his fiancée is pregnant. When his homecoming doesn't go as planned, he'll be plunged into a world of witchcraft and sorcery. Baloji serves up a visual feast, infusing magical realism into this kaleidoscopic portrait of four people accused of witchcraft, including Koffi's sister and mother and a young street sorcerer named Paco. Baloji won the New Vision Award in the Un Certain Regard competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival for his bold feature debut. DIR/SCR Baloji; SCR Thomas van Zuylen; PROD Benoît Roland. Belgium/Democratic Republic of the Congo/Netherlands/France/Germany/South Africa, 2023, color, 90 min. In English, French, Lingala and Swahili with English subtitles. NOT RATED

No AFI Member passes accepted.