Feb 14, 2026 9:35pm PT Mahamat-Saleh Haroun on Berlin Golden Bear Contender ‘Soumsoum’ and Why It’s His ‘Duty’ to Bring His Native Chad to the Big Screen By Christopher Vourlias Plus Icon Christopher Vourlias Latest Mahamat-Saleh Haroun on Berlin Golden Bear Contender ‘Soumsoum’ and Why It’s His ‘Duty’ to Bring His Native Chad to the Big Screen 19 minutes ago ‘Lady’s’ Nigerian Stars Celebrate ‘Sisterhood’ Behind Sundance Prizewinner Ahead of Berlin Premiere 23 hours ago African Filmmaking Talent Thrives on a Global Stage as Market Stumbles and Business Resets With New Models, Challenges 2 days ago See All "Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars" (Courtesy of Pili Films) Since arriving on the world cinema stage with the deeply personal docudrama “Bye Bye Africa” (1999), Chadian auteur Mahamat-Saleh Haroun has been at the forefront of a generation of filmmakers who have landed African cinema squarely on the map. Despite emigrating to France in the 1980s, at the height of Chad’s devastating civil war, he’s continued to return to his Central African roots, calling it his “duty” to document life in his native country. A fixture at the Cannes Film Festival, where he scooped a Special Jury Prize for “A Screaming Man” (2010), and has three times competed for the Palme d’Or, the director will vie for his first Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival with “Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars.” It’s a story of sisterhood that follows a young woman troubled by haunting visions who befriends a village outcast.
