Abou Sangare, an actor from Guinea who’s based in France, has won the European Actor award at the 2024 European Film Awards. The ceremony was held last night (December 7) at the Culture and Congress Centre in Lucerne (KKL Lucerne), Switzerland.
Sangare’s win at the 37th European Film Awards comes months after he was named winner of the Best Actor award for the Cannes Film Festival’s Une Certain Regard section back in May. Both victories came as a result of his role in Boris Lojkine’s acclaimed film Souleymane’s Story, which was previously known as The Story of Souleymane.
It is the Guinean actor’s first role after landing in France in 2017 as a teenager. His own struggles to pursue a legal stay in his new country are somewhat reflected in his character’s desperation.
In the film, Sangare plays the titular character, an immigrant in Paris hustling for a living while preparing for an interview to solidify his status in French society. In real-life, Sangare has said his first move after getting his papers would be to go work for a garage that has been looking to employ him after his training as a car mechanic. It’s probably safe to say his dreams will be more easily fulfilled after his latest win.
To win his latest award, Sangare had to fight off fellow nominees Daniel Craig for Queer, Lars Eidinger for Dying, Franz Rogowski for Bird, and Ralph Fiennes for Conclave.
The big winner of the 2024 European Film Awards was the epic musical Emilia Perez. The Jacques Audiard film won the European Actress, Director, Screenwriter, and Film awards. Souleymane’s Story also won the European Sound award.
