UTA Signs Baloji, Director Of Belgium’s Oscar Pick ‘Omen’
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed up Belgium’s buzzy rapper-turned-filmmaker Baloji. Baloji, who made his directorial debut earlier this year with Omen, has signed with UTA for representation in all areas and will continue to be represented by Juanita Fellag at AS Talents.
Omen debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard. The pic has also secured 13 nominations from the African Movie Academy Awards, the highest number of nominations from AMAA this year.
Described as a “magical-realist drama” and set in Baloji’s native Congo, the film follows Koffi, a young Congolese man who — after spending years living in Belgium — returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront the intricacies of his family and culture.
A Belgian-Dutch-Congolese-French-South African co-production, Omen stars Marc Zinga, best known for his work with the Dardenne brothers alongside Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire, Yves-Marina Gnahoua, and Marcel Otete Kabeya.
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