Samba

SAMBA is a richly entertaining chronicle of an undocumented kitchen worker battling deportation from his adopted home in Paris. Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, the acclaimed writing and directing duo of the runaway sensation THE INTOUCHABLES, reteam with Omar Sy (winner of the 2012 César Award for Best Actor, THE INTOUCHABLES) for this cross-cultural romantic comedy which also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg (winner of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, ANTICHRIST).

For ten years, Senegalese immigrant Samba (Sy) has stayed under the government radar, taking menial kitchen jobs in the hope of becoming a professional chef. Suddenly, as his longtime ambitions for a better life seem just within reach, immigration authorities hit Samba with an order to leave France immediately. Stubbornly holding onto his dream, Samba pins his hopes for a reprieve on a local immigration advocacy center and Alice (Gainsbourg), an emotionally vulnerable volunteer with little experience but plenty of heart. He finds a second home at the center with Alice and her colleagues, including brusque law student Manu (Izïa Higelin), do-gooder Marcelle (Hélène Vincent) and naïve Maggy (Jacqueline Jehanneuf), as they search for a way for him to stay in France.

As Samba plunges into the unpredictable world of transient labor, guided by his fun-loving Brazilian buddy Wilson (Tahar Rahim), Alice finds herself deeply moved by his determination. Still trying to put her own life back together after a stress-related breakdown, she takes Samba under her wing, while trying to ignore the growing attraction she feels for him. As the aspiring chef immigrant and the burned-out corporate executive tentatively draw closer, their unlikely connection gives them each the courage to reinvent themselves in this vibrant romantic comedy full of tender humor and heartfelt optimism.

SAMBA premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and has opened to much enthusiasm from audiences in over 25 countries.

“A milestone in big-budget French cinema...After the runaway success of “The Intouchables,” Toledano and Nakache were positioned to tackle nearly any project they pleased, especially if comedic muse Sy agreed to be involved. It speaks volumes about the trio’s priorities that they decided to challenge themselves and their built-in mainstream audience with “Samba,” a more-serious-than-not cross-cultural romance. The pic cements Sy’s position as one of France’s most magnetic screen personalities. – Peter Debruge, Variety

“An impressively lucid, and often hilarious, indictment of France’s two-tiered social system.”
– Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

“Both actors are tremendous. Sy adds a powerful dramatic shading to his usual irresistible charm, while Gainsbourg hints at a sunnier disposition beneath her volatile nervousness.”
– Trevor Johnston, Time Out London