“Announces its writer-director as an artist of significant formal imagination and daring, unafraid to put standard narrative legibility at risk in favor of intuitive sensory suggestion.” - Guy Lodge, Variety
“A visually striking, deeply compassionate, and memorable debut.” - Arjun Sajip, Indiewire
In the feature debut from Belgian Congolese artist and musician Baloji, Koffi, a young Congolese man, visits his native Kinshasa after living for years in Belgium. With his white fiancée Alice by his side, the return to his birthplace is troubled from the start, as his family members hold fast to old superstitions, heightened by his appearance and the passage of time. When he suffers a nosebleed during a meal, secrecy and sorcery erupt. With stunningly rich visuals, OMEN is a sensory experience, introducing a daring, imaginative, and visionary filmmaker. Belgium’s submission to the Academy Awards for consideration, OMEN premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the New Voice Prize, and was the Opening Night Film for the Gene Siskel Film Center's 2024 Chicago European Union Film Festival.
Awards & Nominations
Winner - Un Certain Regard - New Voice Prize, Cannes Film Festival
Nominee - Un Certain Regard Award, Cannes Film Festival
Nominee - Golden Camera, Cannes Film Festival
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu