Saint Omer

Diop, Alice, 1979- (film director,, screenwriter.). David, Amrita, (screenwriter,, editor of moving image work.). NDiaye, Marie, (screenwriter.). Ayadi, Toufik, (film producer.). Barral, Christophe, (film producer.). Kagame, Kayije, (actor.). Malanda, Guslagie, (actor.). Dréville, Valérie, (actor.). Petit, Aurélia, (actor.). SRAB Films, (presenter,, production company.). Arte France cinéma (Firm), (production company.). Pictanovo, (production company.). Criterion Collection (Firm), (publisher.). Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dréville, Aurélia Petit. (Cast).

Summary: Bringing a documentarian's sense of open-ended inquiry to her first narrative feature, writer-director Alice Diop constructs a morally and emotionally layered courtroom drama unlike any other. When she travels to Saint-Omer, France, to attend the trial of a young Senegalese woman accused of murdering her infant daughter, novelist Rama finds herself shaken to the core by a case that proves to have profound resonances with her own life. Interweaving complex themes of mother-daughter bonds, immigrant alienation, and postcolonial trauma into a piercing portrait of two mysteriously connected women, Diop forgoes mere questions of guilt and innocence to plumb the unsettling unknowability of the human soul.

Record details

ISBN: 9798886071214
Physical Description: 1 videodisc (approximately 123 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 folded insert
videodisc
Edition: Director-approved DVD special edition.
Publisher: [New York, New York] : The Criterion Collection, [2024]
Copyright: ©2024, 2022

Content descriptions

General Note:	Originally released as a motion picture in 2022. Special features: New and archival interviews with director Alice Diop; Conversation between Diop and author Hélène Frappat; Conversation between Diop and filmmaker Dee Rees from a 2023 episode of The Director's Cut: a DGA podcast; Trailer; Folded insert featuring an essay by critic Jennifer Padjemi.
Creation/Production Credits Note:	Director of photography, Claire Mathon ; editor, Amrita David.
Participant or Performer Note:	Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dréville, Aurélia Petit.
System Details Note:	DVD, widescreen (1.85:1); Dolby 5.1 surround; NTSC, region 1.
Language Note:	French dialogue; English subtitles.