EXCLUSIVE: Chad has selected Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s Soumsoum, The Night Of The Stars as its entry for best international feature at the 99th Academy Awards.
The France-Chad co-production is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival after having its world premiere in Berlin competition in February, where it won the Fipresci prize.
Set in Chad’s remote Ennedi region, the magical-realist drama follows a teenage girl whose emerging supernatural powers draw her into a spiritual world that puts her at odds with her community, before she forms a bond with an older woman who is also shunned by the village.
Newcomer Maïmouna Miawama stars alongside Ériq Ebouaney and Achouackh Abakar Souleymane. Florence Stern produced for France’s Pili Films, in co-production with Haroun’s Chad-based Goï-Goï Productions. Films Boutique handles international sales and KMBO released the film in France in April.
Soumsoum marks Chad’s fourth submission to the Oscar race, all of which have been directed by Haroun: Abouna in 2002, GriGris in 2013 and Lingui, The Sacred Bonds in 2021. The country has yet to secure a nomination or make the shortlist.
The deadline for international feature submissions is September 30. The Academy will reveal its 15-film shortlist on December 15, followed by nominations on January 21, 2027.
The 99th Academy Awards will take place on March 14, 2027.
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