GOODBYE SOLO

Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Solo, a taxi driver from Senegal, is a man of infectious optimism; he works for a better life for his young family. William, a taciturn Southerner in his seventies with a life full of missed opportunities behind him, gets into his cab and books a ride two weeks from now: to Blowing Rock, the summit of a rugged mountain. Solo comes to understand that William does not intend to return from there. So he decides to talk the old man out of it – by becoming his friend. “Goodbye Solo” (USA 2008) by Ramin Bahrani tells the story of this unlikely friendship on the lonely streets of a Southern town.

Bahrani, who grew up in Winston-Salem himself, cast Souléymane Sy Savané in the lead role. The film premiered in 2008 in Venice, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize of the international film critics; its North American premiere followed in Toronto. “Goodbye Solo” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2009.