The Mauritanian master Aberrahmane Sissako reached glory with his previous feature, the foreign-language Oscar-nominated “Timbuktu” (2014). It was a harrowing, beautiful and potent film that hit the soft spot in combining the no-nonsense panoramic overview of the Islamist occupation of the titular city and the humaneness of the resistance to it. Ten years later, Sissako is, once again re-united with his co-screenwriter Kessen Tall, back on the festival circuit with his attempt at the globe-trotting cinema called “Black Tea”. It premiered at the competition of Berlinale and continued its tour at the Belgrade International Film Festival – Fest.
Black Tea screened at Berlin International Film Festival
Sissako opens his film with a sequence set, but not actually elaborated in any way, at a mass wedding ceremony in Abijan, the capital of Ivory Coast. Like other brides, Aya (Nina Melo) is excited, but when her time comes to say the magic words, she makes a monologue,...
Black Tea screened at Berlin International Film Festival
Sissako opens his film with a sequence set, but not actually elaborated in any way, at a mass wedding ceremony in Abijan, the capital of Ivory Coast. Like other brides, Aya (Nina Melo) is excited, but when her time comes to say the magic words, she makes a monologue,...
- 3/16/2024
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
Part of reviewing films for trades like The Hollywood Reporter is to provide a clear and concise plot summary for the reader. But this task may prove particularly difficult for Black Tea — the first feature in nearly ten years from Mauritanian auteur Abderrahmane Sissako, whose powerful 2014 drama Timbuktu won several César awards and was nominated for a foreign-language Oscar.
Ostensibly, the story follows Aya (the graceful Nina Mélo), an African bride who dumps her groom at the wedding and flees to China, where she works in a tea shop and winds up having an affair with her seductive boss, Cai (Chang Han). But is that what really happens?
The trailer, as well as the official synopsis, would lead you to think so. In reality, though, this completely enigmatic drama never offers up a succinct plotline, skipping from one character and story to another, jumping back and forth between countries and time periods,...
Ostensibly, the story follows Aya (the graceful Nina Mélo), an African bride who dumps her groom at the wedding and flees to China, where she works in a tea shop and winds up having an affair with her seductive boss, Cai (Chang Han). But is that what really happens?
The trailer, as well as the official synopsis, would lead you to think so. In reality, though, this completely enigmatic drama never offers up a succinct plotline, skipping from one character and story to another, jumping back and forth between countries and time periods,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tea can be an energizer or a sedative. “Black Tea,” the first film in a decade from veteran Mauritanian auteur Abderrahmane Sissako, sips exclusively from the latter end of the shelf, passing through chamomile-type calm into outright soporific territory. And if that seems a trite metaphor related to the beverage, this tepid Berlinale competition entry has plenty more of its own: A love story between a Chinese tea-shop owner and an Ivory Coast émigré that is rooted in the rituals of brewing and consuming the blessed leaves, the film aims for woozy sensualism but falls way short on the ambient richness and X-factor chemistry required to sell such an essentially confected exercise.
It’s altogether a mystifying misstep from Sissako, typically a filmmaker of such formal and political vigor; by its close, the ten years separating “Black Tea” from 2014’s beautiful, shattering “Timbuktu” feel closer to an eon. Though this...
It’s altogether a mystifying misstep from Sissako, typically a filmmaker of such formal and political vigor; by its close, the ten years separating “Black Tea” from 2014’s beautiful, shattering “Timbuktu” feel closer to an eon. Though this...
- 2/21/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been 10 years since Mauritanian–Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako last directed a film, but his much-anticipated return is suffused with a lightness that belies the long wait. A soft-focus romantic drama that channels some of the same humanism that steeped its way into “Timbuktu,” “Black Tea” finds Sissako applying his empathetic gaze towards the service of a much gentler vision.
It starts with a prologue of sorts set on the Ivory Coast. Aya (Nina Mélo), an Ivorian woman in her thirties, is about to get married but has just discovered that her future husband has been unfaithful. In a memorable opening image, a black insect walks through the folds of her white dress — an ominous fly in the ointment — as she waits for the nuptials to begin, her face twisting with uncertainty. At the altar, she astonishes her family by refusing to say “I do,” choosing instead to walk...
It starts with a prologue of sorts set on the Ivory Coast. Aya (Nina Mélo), an Ivorian woman in her thirties, is about to get married but has just discovered that her future husband has been unfaithful. In a memorable opening image, a black insect walks through the folds of her white dress — an ominous fly in the ointment — as she waits for the nuptials to begin, her face twisting with uncertainty. At the altar, she astonishes her family by refusing to say “I do,” choosing instead to walk...
- 2/21/2024
- by Rachel Pronger
- Indiewire
“Black Tea,” Abderrahmane Sissako‘s lushly lensed romance drama set in China, has been bought by major distributors in key territories ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.
Gaumont, which co-produced the film, has sold it to Caramel (Spain), Academy two (Italy), Pandora Films, Cineart (Benelux), Films4you (Portugal), Provzglyad (Cis), Mozinet (Hungary), Another World Entertainment (Norway), Film Bazar (Denmark), McF Megacom, Filmstop, Mb Taip Toliau (Lithuania), Imovision (Brazil), Av Jet (Taiwan), Falcon (Indonesia), Pathé BC and New Cinema (Israel).
The movie was also previously acquired by Cohen Media Group for distribution in the U.S. “Black Tea” marks Sissako’s follow up to his 2015 Oscar-nominated film “Timbuktu.”
“Black Tea” tells the story of Aya, who leaves the Ivory Coast after walking out on her wedding day and sets off to start a new life in Guangzhou, China. In this district where the African diaspora meets Chinese culture,...
Gaumont, which co-produced the film, has sold it to Caramel (Spain), Academy two (Italy), Pandora Films, Cineart (Benelux), Films4you (Portugal), Provzglyad (Cis), Mozinet (Hungary), Another World Entertainment (Norway), Film Bazar (Denmark), McF Megacom, Filmstop, Mb Taip Toliau (Lithuania), Imovision (Brazil), Av Jet (Taiwan), Falcon (Indonesia), Pathé BC and New Cinema (Israel).
The movie was also previously acquired by Cohen Media Group for distribution in the U.S. “Black Tea” marks Sissako’s follow up to his 2015 Oscar-nominated film “Timbuktu.”
“Black Tea” tells the story of Aya, who leaves the Ivory Coast after walking out on her wedding day and sets off to start a new life in Guangzhou, China. In this district where the African diaspora meets Chinese culture,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Taiwan International Co-Funding Program (Ticp) from Taiwan Creative Content Agency (Taicca) continues to make an impact at the 74th Berlinale. Black Tea and Shambhala enter the main competition, while Sleep With Your Eyes Open competes at Encounters. Festival veteran Tsai Ming-Liang scored two official selections with his latest documentary Abiding Nowhere in Berlinale Special and The Wayward Cloud at Berlinale Classics Special.
Black Tea is Abderrahmane Sissako's follow up feature after Timbuktu with Taiwan as a key location and two Taiwanese actors Chang Han from A Brighter Summer Day and Wu Ke-Xi of Nina Wu playing alongside Nina Mélo in this cross-cultural romance. The film also received investment from Kaohsiung Film Fund.
Also in the main competition is Shambhala, the second feature from Nepal's Min Bahadur Bham, which sees a woman journey across the Himalayas to prove her innocence. Liao Ching-Sung and Roger Huang are two executive producers from...
Black Tea is Abderrahmane Sissako's follow up feature after Timbuktu with Taiwan as a key location and two Taiwanese actors Chang Han from A Brighter Summer Day and Wu Ke-Xi of Nina Wu playing alongside Nina Mélo in this cross-cultural romance. The film also received investment from Kaohsiung Film Fund.
Also in the main competition is Shambhala, the second feature from Nepal's Min Bahadur Bham, which sees a woman journey across the Himalayas to prove her innocence. Liao Ching-Sung and Roger Huang are two executive producers from...
- 2/16/2024
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
"It's very special." "I love the scent." "So do I." Gaumont in France has revealed the first promo trailer for an indie relationship drama titled Black Tea, a brand new film made by acclaimed Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako. This film is premiering in the Main Competition at the upcoming 2024 Berlin Film Festival kicking off soon this month. Looks like one of the best in the line-up! Aya, a young Ivory Coast woman in her early thirties, says "no" on her wedding day, to everyone's astonishment. After emigrating to China, she finds work in a tea export shop with Cai, a 45-year-old Chinese man. Aya and Cai soon fall in love but can their affair survive the turmoil of their pasts and other people's prejudices? Eight years after the breathtaking Timbuktu (in competition at Cannes 2014 and an Academy Award nominee for Best International Film), Sissako returns with Black Tea – starring Nina Mélo,...
- 2/8/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Gaumont has unveiled a first still and trailer for “Black Tea,” Abderrahmane Sissako’s highly anticipated follow-up to his 2015 Oscar-nominated film “Timbuktu.” The movie will world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.
A lushly-lensed romance drama, “Black Tea” (previously titled “The Perfumed Hill“) tells the story of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast after walking out on her wedding day and sets off to start a new life in Guangzhou, China. In this district where the African diaspora meets the Chinese culture, she gets hired in a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man. In the secrecy of the back shop, Cai decides to initiate Aya to the tea ceremony and their relationship slowly turns into tender love.
Gaumont, which is handling international sales and French distribution rights on the film, has described it as “a timeless, universal love story between two opposite characters” and a “sensory journey” set across China,...
A lushly-lensed romance drama, “Black Tea” (previously titled “The Perfumed Hill“) tells the story of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast after walking out on her wedding day and sets off to start a new life in Guangzhou, China. In this district where the African diaspora meets the Chinese culture, she gets hired in a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man. In the secrecy of the back shop, Cai decides to initiate Aya to the tea ceremony and their relationship slowly turns into tender love.
Gaumont, which is handling international sales and French distribution rights on the film, has described it as “a timeless, universal love story between two opposite characters” and a “sensory journey” set across China,...
- 1/22/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival on Monday unveiled the titles selected for its official competition and its sidebar Encounters competitive section.
A total of 20 films have been selected for the international competition, with highlights including La Cocina, directed by Alonso Ruiz Palacios and starring Rooney Mara. The pic is described as a “kinetic and cinematic love story” set over a single day in a Times Square kitchen. French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop returns with Dahomey, a 60-minute doc about art repatriation and Hong Sangsoo plays in competition with A Traveler’s Needs, starring Isabelle Huppert. Scroll down for the full lineup.
The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 15-25.
Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Killers of the Flower Moon...
A total of 20 films have been selected for the international competition, with highlights including La Cocina, directed by Alonso Ruiz Palacios and starring Rooney Mara. The pic is described as a “kinetic and cinematic love story” set over a single day in a Times Square kitchen. French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop returns with Dahomey, a 60-minute doc about art repatriation and Hong Sangsoo plays in competition with A Traveler’s Needs, starring Isabelle Huppert. Scroll down for the full lineup.
The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 15-25.
Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Killers of the Flower Moon...
- 1/22/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The 74th Berlin International Film Festival unveiled its full lineup Monday at its official press conference in the House of World Cultures in Berlin. Berlinale managing director Mariëtte Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian presented the films that will compete for this year’s Golden and Silver Bears both in the competition and encounters sections.
Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios, a Berlinale regular and two-time Silver Bear winner — for A Cop Movie in 2022 and Museo in 2018 — returns to Berlin competition with his English-language feature debut La Cocina. Rooney Mara and The Cop Movie alum Raúl Briones star in the drama set over the course of a single day in a bustling New York City restaurant. Briones plays an undocumented cook in a relationship with Julia (Mara), an American waitress who cannot commit to their relationship. Fifth Season and WME are selling North American rights to La Cocina with HanWay handling international sales.
Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios, a Berlinale regular and two-time Silver Bear winner — for A Cop Movie in 2022 and Museo in 2018 — returns to Berlin competition with his English-language feature debut La Cocina. Rooney Mara and The Cop Movie alum Raúl Briones star in the drama set over the course of a single day in a bustling New York City restaurant. Briones plays an undocumented cook in a relationship with Julia (Mara), an American waitress who cannot commit to their relationship. Fifth Season and WME are selling North American rights to La Cocina with HanWay handling international sales.
- 1/22/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lucas Bernard’s romantic comedy ’In The Sub For Love’ is another new acquisition for French studio.
French studio Gaumont has unveiled a hefty genre-hopping Cannes slate complete with all new acquisitions Gilles de Maistre’s family adventure Moon The Panda, Stéphane Brizé’s romance drama Out Of Season and Lucas Bernard’s romantic comedy In The Sub For Love in addition to a slew of market premieres and official selection festival titles.
New acquisitions
Moon The Panda is the latest film from the master of the human-animal adventure tale Gilles de Maistre following Mia And The White Lion and The Wolf And The Lion.
French studio Gaumont has unveiled a hefty genre-hopping Cannes slate complete with all new acquisitions Gilles de Maistre’s family adventure Moon The Panda, Stéphane Brizé’s romance drama Out Of Season and Lucas Bernard’s romantic comedy In The Sub For Love in addition to a slew of market premieres and official selection festival titles.
New acquisitions
Moon The Panda is the latest film from the master of the human-animal adventure tale Gilles de Maistre following Mia And The White Lion and The Wolf And The Lion.
- 5/10/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The Perfumed Hill
A project that has been gestating perhaps not that long after the release of Timbuktu (2014), Mauritanian-born Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako was indeed stranded on the tarmac for a bit but La Colline Parfumee finally did get taxied out with filming taking place in both Africa and Taiwan for a drama romance set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. Production began before September of last year with the likes of Nina Melo, Han Chang, and Ke-Xi Wu. Sissako mentioned that he was inspired to tell this story after discovering in 2005 a restaurant called La Colline Parfumée that was run by an Afro-Chinese couple.…...
A project that has been gestating perhaps not that long after the release of Timbuktu (2014), Mauritanian-born Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako was indeed stranded on the tarmac for a bit but La Colline Parfumee finally did get taxied out with filming taking place in both Africa and Taiwan for a drama romance set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. Production began before September of last year with the likes of Nina Melo, Han Chang, and Ke-Xi Wu. Sissako mentioned that he was inspired to tell this story after discovering in 2005 a restaurant called La Colline Parfumée that was run by an Afro-Chinese couple.…...
- 1/17/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
At long last, after years of development, Abderrahmane Sissako is set to embark on his first feature since 2014’s Timbuktu. The Mauritanian-born Malian director’s next work is The Perfumed Hill, which will begin shooting this month.
As reported by Variety, the romantic drama, scripted by the director and Kessen Tall, will star Nina Melo (Girlhood), Han Chang (Little Big Women), and Ke-Xi Wu (Nina Wu) in an ambitious story set “between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast, and Cape Verde.” Picked up for a U.S. release by Cohen Media Group and Gaumont in France, the project has come to TIFF for buyers, and thus an expanded synopsis has arrived:
The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai,...
As reported by Variety, the romantic drama, scripted by the director and Kessen Tall, will star Nina Melo (Girlhood), Han Chang (Little Big Women), and Ke-Xi Wu (Nina Wu) in an ambitious story set “between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast, and Cape Verde.” Picked up for a U.S. release by Cohen Media Group and Gaumont in France, the project has come to TIFF for buyers, and thus an expanded synopsis has arrived:
The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai,...
- 9/7/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Eight years after delivering his Oscar-nominated film “Timbuktu,” Abderrahmane Sissako is set to make his anticipated directorial comeback with “The Perfumed Hill.” Gaumont is representing in international markets and will introduce it to buyers at at Toronto. The French studio will also distribute the film in France, while Cohen Media Group will release it in the U.S.
Re-teaming Sissako with his “Timbuktu” co-writer Kessen Tall, “The Perfumed Hill” is a romance drama set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. It stars Nina Melo (“Girlhood”), Han Chang (“Little Big Women”) and Ke-Xi Wu (“Nina Wu”).
The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man, in the vibrant region of Guangzhou, known as the “Chocolate City.
Re-teaming Sissako with his “Timbuktu” co-writer Kessen Tall, “The Perfumed Hill” is a romance drama set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. It stars Nina Melo (“Girlhood”), Han Chang (“Little Big Women”) and Ke-Xi Wu (“Nina Wu”).
The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man, in the vibrant region of Guangzhou, known as the “Chocolate City.
- 9/6/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
A film that will very likely be included on my list of African diaspora films that may debut at the Cannes Film Festival this year, is Soleils (which translates as Suns in English) co-directed by Burkinabe filmmakers, Olivier Delahaye and Dani Kouyaté, from a script by Delahaye. With a cast that includes Binda Ngazolo and Nina Melo, the film tells the story of an old wise man who is entrusted with curing a young girl struck by amnesia. He takes her on a healing trip to Ouagadougou by way of the Cape, Berlin, Mali and Belgium. In their travels, which are full of surprises, they meet a variety of characters described as remarkable...
- 3/18/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Currently in post-production is Soleils (which translates as Suns in English) co-directed in Burkinabe filmmakers, Olivier Delahaye's and Dani Kouyate, from a script by Delahaye. With a cast that includes Binda Ngazolo and Nina Melo, the film tells the story of an old wise man who is entrusted with curing a young girl struck by amnesia. He takes her on a healing trip to Ouagadougou by way of the Cape, Berlin, Mali and Belgium. In their travels, which are full of surprises, they meet a variety of characters described as remarkable and luminous, or ignorant, with set ideas, as well as some fantastical creatures, and a text hidden deep in a...
- 3/22/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Currently in post-production is Soleils (which translates as Suns in English) co-directed in Burkina Faso by Olivier Delahaye's and Dani Kouyate (above photo) from a script by Delahaye. With a cast that includes Binda Ngazolo and Nina Melo, the film tells the story of "an old wise man who educates girls by recounting history, the wisdom of tales and the madness of men," and "is a tale that confronts us with our prejudices and amnesias, and reminds us with humour that Africa has something to tell us all." The project received a €350,000 advance on receipts from the French National Film and Moving Image Centre (Cnc) last year -...
- 1/17/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Currently in production is Soleils (which translates as Suns in English) which is being co-directed in Burkina Faso by Olivier Delahaye's and Dani Kouyate (above photo) from a script by Delahaye. With a cast that includes Binda Ngazolo and Nina Melo, the film tells the story of "an old wise man who educates girls by recounting history, the wisdom of tales and the madness of men," says Cineuropa, adding that "it's a tale that confronts us with our prejudices and amnesias, and reminds us with humour that Africa has something to tell us all." The project recently received a € 350,000 advance on receipts from the French National...
- 6/12/2012
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
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