In Omen, one fractured family attempts to reconcile two irreconcilable yet inextricable realities, that of the Republic of the Congo and its one-time colonial possessor, Belgium. In his feature directorial debut, Belgian-Congolese rapper Baloji avoids romanticizing either, preferring to depict their uneasy relation as it manifests in family squabbles.
The film is broken up into four sections, each with their own mood and color palette, titled after the central characters: Koffi (Marc Zinga), Paco (Marcel Otete Kabeya), Tshala (Eliane Umuhire), and Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua). These sections intersect one another, though Koffi remains the overall protagonist. Ostracized for a port-wine stain birthmark that his family sees as a sign of evil sorcery, he returns from Belgium to the Congo after many years, hoping to obtain his parents’ blessing to marry Alice (Lucie Debay), his white Belgian fiancée, who’s pregnant with twins. From the outset, nothing goes as planned.
Omen makes...
The film is broken up into four sections, each with their own mood and color palette, titled after the central characters: Koffi (Marc Zinga), Paco (Marcel Otete Kabeya), Tshala (Eliane Umuhire), and Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua). These sections intersect one another, though Koffi remains the overall protagonist. Ostracized for a port-wine stain birthmark that his family sees as a sign of evil sorcery, he returns from Belgium to the Congo after many years, hoping to obtain his parents’ blessing to marry Alice (Lucie Debay), his white Belgian fiancée, who’s pregnant with twins. From the outset, nothing goes as planned.
Omen makes...
- 4/7/2024
- by William Repass
- Slant Magazine
Omen is the official submission from Belgium for the International Feature Oscar category and comes from multi-hyphenate interdisciplinary artist Baloji, who makes his feature directing debut. The film had its world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section this year where it won the New Voice Prize, before going on to play myriad festivals. Utopia is the North American distributor.
Omen uses magical realism to examine the intricacies of identity, culture and belief systems. It kicks off with, and often returns to, the story of Koffi (Marc Zinga), a young Congolese man who has spent years living in Belgium. With his pregnant wife in tow, he returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront his family and homeland culture. But secrecy and sorcery erupt when a nosebleed is mistaken for a curse.
His family includes independent spirit sister Tshala played by Eliane Umuhire, and mother Mama Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua). Along...
Omen uses magical realism to examine the intricacies of identity, culture and belief systems. It kicks off with, and often returns to, the story of Koffi (Marc Zinga), a young Congolese man who has spent years living in Belgium. With his pregnant wife in tow, he returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront his family and homeland culture. But secrecy and sorcery erupt when a nosebleed is mistaken for a curse.
His family includes independent spirit sister Tshala played by Eliane Umuhire, and mother Mama Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua). Along...
- 12/9/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
At first glance, “Omen” appears to be another entry in the long tradition of immigrant narratives dedicated to the old adage that you can’t go home again. Returning to the country of his birth, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgian resident Koffi (Marc Zinga) finds himself not just a stranger in a strange land, but a pariah in his own family. But things are more nuanced than that in this hazy, head-turning first feature from Belgian-Congolese rapper-turned-filmmaker Baloji: The deeper it delves into and across Koffi’s tortured family history, the clearer it becomes that his homeland was never a home to him at all. In “Omen,” cultural tradition is as much a force in dividing families as the gentrifying pull of the west, though Baloji lets viewers draw their own political conclusions amid a mist of vividly realized folklore.
A boldly outward-looking pick from Belgium as...
A boldly outward-looking pick from Belgium as...
- 12/8/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
"Here they tell you to do something, and you do it." Utopia has unveiled the first trailer for an atmospheric thriller from Africa titled Omen, the feature directorial debut of the artist / filmmaker known as "Baloji". This premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year as one of the most unique discoveries from the fest. It's also now Belgium's submission to the 2024 Academy Awards. "Zabolo. It means the mark of the Devil." After years in Belgium, a young Congolese man comes back to his hometown of Kinshasa to face the complexities of his family and his culture. Omen is an ensemble film about people accused of being witches & sorcerers. Despite their misfortune they find the way to guide each other away from their destinies and into the phantasmagoria of Africa. Starring Marc Zinga, Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire, Yves-Marina Gnahoua, and Marcel Otete Kabeya. This trailer plays like a full-on horror movie,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed up Belgium’s buzzy rapper-turned-filmmaker Baloji.
Baloji, who made his directorial debut earlier this year with Omen, has signed with UTA for representation in all areas and will continue to be represented by Juanita Fellag at As Talents.
Omen debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard. The pic has also secured 13 nominations from the African Movie Academy Awards, the highest number of nominations from Amaa this year.
Described as a “magical-realist drama” and set in Baloji’s native Congo, the film follows Koffi, a young Congolese man who — after spending years living in Belgium — returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront the intricacies of his family and culture.
A Belgian-Dutch-Congolese-French-South African co-production, Omen stars Marc Zinga, best known for his work with the Dardenne brothers alongside Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire,...
Baloji, who made his directorial debut earlier this year with Omen, has signed with UTA for representation in all areas and will continue to be represented by Juanita Fellag at As Talents.
Omen debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard. The pic has also secured 13 nominations from the African Movie Academy Awards, the highest number of nominations from Amaa this year.
Described as a “magical-realist drama” and set in Baloji’s native Congo, the film follows Koffi, a young Congolese man who — after spending years living in Belgium — returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront the intricacies of his family and culture.
A Belgian-Dutch-Congolese-French-South African co-production, Omen stars Marc Zinga, best known for his work with the Dardenne brothers alongside Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Belgium has picked Omen, the first feature from rapper-turned-filmmaker Baloji to be its official entry for the 2024 Oscars in the best international feature category.
The magical realist drama follows Koffi (Marc Zinga), a young Congolese man who, after years of living in Belgium, returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa hoping to reconnect with his family. Koffi was born with a large Rorschach-esque birthmark that frightened his mother, Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua), who labeled him a sorcerer and banished him to Europe. Over the course of the film, Baloji intertwines four stories of people ostracized by their communities and navigating accusations of witchcraft and sorcery. Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire and Marcel Otete Kabeya co-star.
A Belgian-Dutch-Congolese-French-South African co-production, Omen premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, where it won Baloji the New Vision Award. In her review, The Hollywood Reporter‘s Lovia Gyarkye called the film “an artful and intriguing take on the African diasporic experience.
The magical realist drama follows Koffi (Marc Zinga), a young Congolese man who, after years of living in Belgium, returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa hoping to reconnect with his family. Koffi was born with a large Rorschach-esque birthmark that frightened his mother, Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua), who labeled him a sorcerer and banished him to Europe. Over the course of the film, Baloji intertwines four stories of people ostracized by their communities and navigating accusations of witchcraft and sorcery. Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire and Marcel Otete Kabeya co-star.
A Belgian-Dutch-Congolese-French-South African co-production, Omen premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, where it won Baloji the New Vision Award. In her review, The Hollywood Reporter‘s Lovia Gyarkye called the film “an artful and intriguing take on the African diasporic experience.
- 9/14/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Belgium has selected Omen, the debut feature from rapper-turned-filmmaker Baloji, as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.
The pic, which debuted in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at Cannes 2023, follows Koffi, a young Congolese man who — after spending years living in Belgium — returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront the intricacies of his family and culture.
A Belgian-Dutch-Congolese-French-South African co-production, Omen picked up the New Vision Award at Cannes. Starring is Marc Zinga, best known for his work with the Dardenne brothers alongside Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire, Yves-Marina Gnahoua, and Marcel Otete Kabeya.
The film is set for a theatrical release in Belgium on November 15. Pan Distribution is the French distributor, while Memento International is handling world sales. Production companies are Special Touch Studios, Wrong Men, New Amsterdam Film Company, Tosala Films, RadicalMedia, Serendipity Films, and Big World Cinema.
Belgium’s Oscar pick...
The pic, which debuted in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at Cannes 2023, follows Koffi, a young Congolese man who — after spending years living in Belgium — returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront the intricacies of his family and culture.
A Belgian-Dutch-Congolese-French-South African co-production, Omen picked up the New Vision Award at Cannes. Starring is Marc Zinga, best known for his work with the Dardenne brothers alongside Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire, Yves-Marina Gnahoua, and Marcel Otete Kabeya.
The film is set for a theatrical release in Belgium on November 15. Pan Distribution is the French distributor, while Memento International is handling world sales. Production companies are Special Touch Studios, Wrong Men, New Amsterdam Film Company, Tosala Films, RadicalMedia, Serendipity Films, and Big World Cinema.
Belgium’s Oscar pick...
- 9/14/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
A theatrical release is plotted for spring 2024.
Aya Films has picked up Cannes title Omen (Augure), the directorial debut from Belgium-Congolese rapper, Baloji, from Paris-based Memento International.
A theatrical release is plotted in the UK and Ireland for spring 2024.
The magic realist film will premiere in the UK at BFI London Film Festival this October, following Baloji’s win of the Un Certain Regard – new voice prize at this year’s Cannes.
It centres on a young Congolese man who travels back to his hometown in Kinshasa to reunite with his family and culture, alongside his European fiancée. Complexities abound...
Aya Films has picked up Cannes title Omen (Augure), the directorial debut from Belgium-Congolese rapper, Baloji, from Paris-based Memento International.
A theatrical release is plotted in the UK and Ireland for spring 2024.
The magic realist film will premiere in the UK at BFI London Film Festival this October, following Baloji’s win of the Un Certain Regard – new voice prize at this year’s Cannes.
It centres on a young Congolese man who travels back to his hometown in Kinshasa to reunite with his family and culture, alongside his European fiancée. Complexities abound...
- 9/5/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The 2023 Cannes Market is behind us, and like clockwork, Neon managed to buy the winner of the Palme d’Or for the fourth straight year, Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall.”
But that wasn’t the only major sale. This year’s Marché du Film netted major domestic deals for some of the buzziest competition titles such as Todd Haynes’ “May December” and Aki Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves,” as well as hot packages like “Paddington 3.” But uncertainty over the writers strike still loomed large, and distributors favored completed projects over packages.
Below are some of the deals we’ve tracked out of Cannes so far, and we’ll be updating this space with more sales as they come in.
Title: “Anselm”
Section: Special Screenings
Distributor: Sideshow and Janus Films
Wim Wenders had not one but two separate films play at this year’s Cannes, and now each have found a home.
But that wasn’t the only major sale. This year’s Marché du Film netted major domestic deals for some of the buzziest competition titles such as Todd Haynes’ “May December” and Aki Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves,” as well as hot packages like “Paddington 3.” But uncertainty over the writers strike still loomed large, and distributors favored completed projects over packages.
Below are some of the deals we’ve tracked out of Cannes so far, and we’ll be updating this space with more sales as they come in.
Title: “Anselm”
Section: Special Screenings
Distributor: Sideshow and Janus Films
Wim Wenders had not one but two separate films play at this year’s Cannes, and now each have found a home.
- 6/28/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Utopia has acquired the North American rights to the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard New Voice Prize winner “Omen,” the debut feature from artist-musician turned director Baloji.
The film follows a young man, Koffi, played by Marc Zinga (“Spectre”), who after spending years in Belgium returns home to the Congo to find himself confronted by his past and culture at a family event.
Koffi visits his birthplace after being mysteriously shunned by his family and spending years abroad in Europe. With his soon-to-be wife and unborn child in tow, Koffi’s arrival sets in motion a sprawling, nightmarish and psychedelic fairy tale about ancestry, belief, wrestling, witchcraft and sorcery in Africa today.
Director Baloji was born in Lubumbashi, Congo, in 1978, and was sent to live with his step family in Belgium when he was 3 years old. Separated from his birth parents, he had a troubled childhood and dropped...
The film follows a young man, Koffi, played by Marc Zinga (“Spectre”), who after spending years in Belgium returns home to the Congo to find himself confronted by his past and culture at a family event.
Koffi visits his birthplace after being mysteriously shunned by his family and spending years abroad in Europe. With his soon-to-be wife and unborn child in tow, Koffi’s arrival sets in motion a sprawling, nightmarish and psychedelic fairy tale about ancestry, belief, wrestling, witchcraft and sorcery in Africa today.
Director Baloji was born in Lubumbashi, Congo, in 1978, and was sent to live with his step family in Belgium when he was 3 years old. Separated from his birth parents, he had a troubled childhood and dropped...
- 6/27/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Editor’s Note: This review originally published during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Utopia will release “Omen” in theaters Friday, April 12.
One of the innumerable tragedies that have resulted from the decades-long strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the suffocation of any kind of national cinema. For most of this century, the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, has not even had a film theater; due to chronic funding difficulties and the instability that plagues much of the country, the handful of non-documentary features about Congo that emerge are largely financed by foreign players.
“Omen,” the feature debut by hip-hopper-turned-filmmaker Baloji, is a Belgian, Dutch, and Congolese co-production, and even as it offers a deeply felt look at Congolese customs, sensibilities, and family dynamics, it foregrounds its own European perspective. What results is an intriguingly ambivalent reckoning with Baloji’s mother country, a genre-hopping, beautifully slippery exploration of Congolese belief systems...
One of the innumerable tragedies that have resulted from the decades-long strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the suffocation of any kind of national cinema. For most of this century, the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, has not even had a film theater; due to chronic funding difficulties and the instability that plagues much of the country, the handful of non-documentary features about Congo that emerge are largely financed by foreign players.
“Omen,” the feature debut by hip-hopper-turned-filmmaker Baloji, is a Belgian, Dutch, and Congolese co-production, and even as it offers a deeply felt look at Congolese customs, sensibilities, and family dynamics, it foregrounds its own European perspective. What results is an intriguingly ambivalent reckoning with Baloji’s mother country, a genre-hopping, beautifully slippery exploration of Congolese belief systems...
- 5/22/2023
- by Arjun Sajip
- Indiewire
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