Omen (2023 film)

Omen (French: Augure) is a 2023 drama film written and directed by Belgian-Congolese Baloji. Starring Marc Zinga, Lucie Debay and Eliane Umuhire,[1] it premiered at Cannes in Un Certain Regard on 23 May 2023, where it won New Voice Prize.[2]

Omen
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBaloji
Screenplay by
Produced by
  • Benoit Roland
Starring
CinematographyJoachim Philippe
Edited by
  • Bertrand Conard
  • Bruno Tracq
Music byLiesa Van der Aa
Production
companies
  • Anonymous Films
  • Big World Cinema
  • New Amsterdam Film Company
  • Red Sea Film Festival Foundation
  • Versus Production
  • Serendipity films
  • Tosala Films
  • Wrong Men North
Distributed by
  • Imagine Film Distribution
  • Pan Distribution (Pan-Européenne)
Release dates
  • 23 May 2023 (2023-05-23) (Cannes)
  • 15 November 2023 (2023-11-15) (Belgium)
Running time
90 minutes
Countries
  • Belgium
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Netherlands
  • France
  • South Africa
  • Germany
Language
  • French

A co-production between Belgium, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Netherlands, France, Germany and South Africa, it was selected as the Belgian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.[3]

Premise

Congolese man Koffi was disowned by his mother in his youth for being a so-called "zabolo," Swahili for evil sorcerer. Now he returns to Congo from Europe to visit his family, along with his white pregnant girlfriend. The visit does not go well as the ancient rituals and persistent superstitions of the local tribes continue to haunt Koffi.[4]

Cast

Production

The head director and screenwriter is the Belgian-Congolese Baloji, also known as the music artist of Starflam, among others. Producer is the company Wrong Men. The production budget was 1 million euros. The film received financial support from the VRT, the RTBF, the Centre du cinéma de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, screen.brussels, the Dutch Audiovisual Fund and the Federal Tax Service, among others. Filming lasted 23 days and took place at 18 different locations. Augure will be released in Belgian theaters on November 15, 2023, and will then be distributed internationally under the name Omen.[5]

Release

Omen had its premiere at 2023 Cannes Film Festival in 'Un Certain Regard' on 23 May 2023. It was invited to Horizons section of 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was screened on 30 June 2023.[6] It was screened at the 2023 Festival du nouveau cinéma in International Panorama on 8 October,[7] then at 2023 BFI London Film Festival in 'Strand' section under 'Dare' theme on 12 October.[8]

Omen will be released in Belgium cinemas on 15 November 2023 by Imagine Film.[9]

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 86% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10.[10]

Awards

See also

References
  1. Baloji (19 October 2023). "Omen". Cineuropa. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  2. Debruge, Peter (27 May 2023). "Cannes Awards: 'Anatomy of a Fall' Takes Palme d'Or, 'The Zone of Interest' and 'The Pot au Feu' Among Winners". Variety. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  3. Roxborough, Scott (14 September 2023). "Oscars: Belgium Picks 'Omen' as International Feature Submission". Hollywood Reporter.
  4. ""Augure" by Baloji Tshiani Wins the New Voices Award at Cannes". ACP-EU Culture. 30 May 2023.
  5. ""Augure" selected as Belgian Oscar entry". vrtnws.be. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  6. "57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Horizons Omen". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  7. "International Panorama: Omen". Festival du nouveau cinéma. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  8. Ntim, Zac (31 August 2023). "BFI London Film Festival Full Lineup: 'The Book Of Clarence' World Premiere; Scorsese, Miyazaki, Lanthimos & Fincher Among Headline Galas". Deadline. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  9. "Omen awarded at Sitges!". WB Images. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  10. "Omen (2023, Drama)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  11. "56th Edition Award Winners". Sitges Film Festival. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
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