Introduction: Living on the Edge—Why Souleymane’s Story Speaks to Creative Leaders
“Souleymane’s Story,” directed by Boris Lojkine and starring Abou Sangaré, is a compelling, unvarnished portrait of a Guinean refugee in Paris navigating the brutal landscape of survival, hope, and truth in arrival and asylum. This intense, kinetic film captures not only the urgency of one man’s fight for legal status but also the inner struggle to remain authentic in a world stacked against him. From the bike-rush of food deliveries to the crucial asylum hearing that may or may not grant safety, the film is an urgent reminder that the power of your story—how boldly and truthfully you own it—can mean the difference between being crushed by circumstance or rising beyond it. For creative leaders, this film’s heartbeat is also their own: the tension between survival, integrity, and vision.
Phase 1: The Story Souleymane Inherits—Displacement and Disconnection
Souleymane’s existing narrative is one of displacement, survival, and systemic invisibility. Forced to subsist in Paris’s gig economy as a food delivery courier, using another’s account to navigate the app-based system, he faces exploitation, danger, and invisibility both as a worker and a person. His story is fragmented: torn between a past he cannot fully reclaim and an uncertain future measured in legal hearings and fleeting money.
Creative Leader’s Reflection:
What narratives of limitation, exclusion, or “not belonging” have shaped your perception of what’s possible? How have those boundaries influenced your leadership or creative self-image?
Phase 2: The Call to Survival and Truth—A Time Bomb Ticking
With his asylum interview looming, Souleymane races against not only the clock, but an entire system that demands a story more dramatic, more suited to bureaucratic expectations than his own truth. His preparation involves adopting a “cover story” crafted by a so-called mentor who profits by demanding payment for false papers and fabricated history. This is the call to not just survive but to engage fully with the question: how truthful can, or must, your story be?
Creative Leader’s Reflection:
Where are you tempted—professionally or personally—to “dress up” your story for approval, rather than own your real one? What are the costs and risks of each choice?
Phase 3: The Journey Through Chaos—Negotiating Harsh Realities
Souleymane’s daily life is a series of unpredictable challenges: missed deliveries, hostile restaurant owners, street dangers, exploitation by both fellow immigrants and service operators. His resilience is tested in every interaction and stretch of road. Yet even amid this chaos, glimpses of kindness, humor, and humanity break through.
Creative Leader’s Reflection:
How do you handle chaos and unpredictability in your leadership? What small acts or relationships fuel your persistence when systems seem designed for failure?
Phase 4: The Ordeal—Facing the Big Interview with Truth or Fabrication?
In the film’s emotional center, Souleymane sits for his OFPRA asylum interview with Nina Meurisse’s compassionate but professional agent. This moment balances hope and fear, truth and necessity, integrity and survival. It distills years of struggle into minutes of testimony, where deception feels like a lifeline but truth holds the promise of freedom.
Creative Leader’s Reflection:
What “big interview” or pivotal moment in your career or personal life demanded you reveal your authentic self—or a version you feared might not be enough? How did you prepare for that moment?
Phase 5: Allies and Adversaries—The Double-Edged Sword of Community
Throughout, Souleymane’s relationships are fraught: with Emmanuel who controls his delivery account; Barry who offers false help for payment; and distant loved ones back home in Guinea, represented mostly by phone calls that pulse with longing and absence. This network defines both bondage and support, reflecting the complexity of belonging on the margins.
Creative Leader’s Reflection:
Who are the real allies, mentors, or gatekeepers in your journey? Which relationships nurture your story, and which drain or distort it?
Phase 6: The Reward—Agency in the Face of Uncertainty
While the film does not reveal the outcome of Souleymane’s asylum process, the reward is his fierce will to keep moving, to keep telling his story—flawed, fragmented, but undeniably his own. His performance combines quiet dignity, humor, and desperation, embodying the heroism of not giving up.
Creative Leader’s Reflection:
When external validation is uncertain, how do you cultivate a sense of agency and progress? What marks your personal definition of “reward” beyond titles or approvals?
Phase 7: The Return—Living Between Two Worlds with New Vision
As the film closes, Souleymane’s fate is unresolved, much like the immigrant story itself. The journey continues, a testament to the endurance needed to hold space for possibilities in the darkest moments. Like all heroes, his story remains open—a call for creators to keep building, questioning, and transforming.
Creative Leader’s Reflection:
What unfinished stories or ongoing projects in your life call for patience, courage, and continued creativity? How can you stay hopeful in the face of ambiguity?
Summary: The Story of Souleymane
“Souleymane’s Story” embodies urgent realism with a touching human heart. It follows a young immigrant’s relentless grind to survive Paris’s gig economy while preparing for the make-or-break asylum interview that will decide his future. Exploited yet resilient, honest yet forced to adapt narratives, Souleymane pedals through city streets as a metaphor for his precarious existence. The film explores themes of identity, truth, hope, systemic injustice, and survival—not just as plot points but as lived experience, unflinchingly portrayed by Abou Sangaré’s powerful lead performance and Boris Lojkine’s gritty, precise direction.
Conclusion: The Power of Your Story—Owning Truth Amidst Turmoil
“Souleymane’s Story” is a sobering lesson in the stakes of authorship—of how survival depends on storytelling, and how the courage to own your truth, even when it risks everything, is a radical, creative act. For every leader facing uncertainty, obstruction, or moral ambiguity, the film shines a compelling light: your story is yours to tell. It will not be perfect, smooth, or guaranteed. But it is the rawest, most powerful tool you have to shape your trajectory and inspire others.
Questions for Creative Reflection
- How do external pressures shape or distort the story you tell about yourself?
- When have you felt forced to choose between truth and survival, and what did you learn?
- What small acts of kindness or humor help you carry your story forward in tough times?
- Who do you trust to help you hold your story with integrity—and who might unintentionally undermine it?
- What unfinished narrative in your life demands creative patience right now?
Coaching Invitation—Harness the Power of Your Story with Peter de Kuster
If Souleymane’s journey awakens a desire to claim narrative agency in your toughest battles, or to build a story that stands for resilience and authenticity, Peter de Kuster’s “Power of Your Story” coaching offers a safe, structured way forward.
Who Should Enroll?
- Leaders and creatives grappling with high stakes or systemic barriers
- Those balancing multiple identities, loyalties, or complex realities
- Anyone seeking to develop a compassionate, authentic narrative voice amid challenge
- Professionals navigating transformation, transition, or uncertainty
Coaching Benefits
- Techniques to unearth and embrace your authentic story
- Strategies to navigate conflict, ambiguity, and vulnerability with courage
- Tailored roadmaps for integrating personal narrative into leadership and branding
- Tools to foster empathy and connection through storytelling
- Ongoing support in turning struggle into strategy and hope
Special Offer
Hero’s Journey Story Coaching with Peter de Kuster
- 3 x 90-minute sessions (online or in-person)
- Personal narrative inventory and creative action plan
- Customized Hero’s Journey template to frame your legend
Investment: €495 (exclusive of VAT)
In a world demanding ever more agile truth-tellers, your greatest power lies in the story you dare to own and tell. Begin your journey today.
The Power of Your Story 