The stunning debut feature by actress-turned-filmmaker Mati Diop is a bewitching tale of longing focused on a young Senegalese woman gripped by her forbidden love for an exploited construction worker who abruptly emigrates to Europe but seems to be lingering mysteriously behind. Melding supernatural fiction with a clear-eyed vision of the migrant crisis, Atlantique—which began, in fact, as a documentary short—gives unique resonance to an urgent issue reshaping communities across Europe and Africa today. A surprise but well-deserved winner of the coveted Grand Prix at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Atlantique establishes Diop as a central figure in a new wave of politically charged yet lyrically shaped art cinema that is reorienting contemporary filmmaking towards bold new directions. – HG

The Harvard Film Archive is pleased to partner with the Film Study Center to welcome back former Radcliffe-FSC Fellow Mati Diop for an area premiere of her remarkable new film.