It looked like Cannes, the red carpet in less: Omar Sy delivered Saturday evening to a long signing session and selfies with overexcited fans after an evening of reading as part of the Festival d'Avignon.
"
Thank you, it's very nice, sit down otherwise I will cry, I did not come for that
", joked the star in front of the reception which was reserved for him the public, at the end of his reading of extracts of the award-winning novel Brotherhood of Soul by David Diop, which has just been recommended by Barack Obama.
To read also: The “almost unexpected” awakening of Avignon
France Culture, which organizes a series of readings every year in the courtyard of the Calvet Museum, has probably never seen so much enthusiasm: a queue of more than 500 people, some spectators, many of them young, seated at even the ground for lack of places to listen to the star of Lupine (on Netflix) to make “
his debut
” at the Festival d'Avignon.
Thank you all for being there, sitting, standing, perched in the trees, on your balconies at home ... I'm happy, I had a great time!
Omar Sy, at the end of his show
"
I thank you all for being there, sitting, standing, perched in the trees, on your balconies at home ...
", Omar Sy laughed, before adding "
I'm happy, I have had a good time!
".
“
We love you!
», Cries a spectator at the end of the reading of the novel, Goncourt des lycéens 2018, which traces the story of Alfa Ndiaye, a Senegalese rifleman during the First World War.
Like "
a prep
"
White shirt and black pants, Omar Sy rendered the text with emotion, sometimes slightly nervous, at times taking deep breaths or looking into the distance. He was accompanied by musician and producer Issam Krimi who subtly echoed the tumult of war and sounds from Africa. "
It so happens that in August, I will start Mathieu Vadepied's film,
Tirailleurs
and in fact, to say this text, it's a bit like the beginning of my preparation
", he explained. to journalists.
"
It is an injustice, it is not linked to the link I have with Senegal
", argued the actor born of a Senegalese father, in reference to these forgotten people of the Great War.
“
It's more linked to the link I have with France.
These soldiers fought for France, we must be grateful.
As soon as there is a way to tell stories that speak of History, that interests me
”.
Read also: Goncourt Prize for High School Students 2018: our review of
Brotherhood of Soul
by David Diop
Asked about the exercise of reading a text aloud, he confides that he was “
a bit
'
stalker
'” but that “
at a given moment, stage fright turns into something indescribable ... 'suddenly, we embrace the text .. we go through things even deeper than when we read quietly, on our sofa
”. He regrets not being able to play this text “
differently
”: “
everyone knows I'm getting old and I can't play Alfa, who is in his twenties
,” laughs the 43-year-old actor.
"
He gave him an identity and now in my mind Alfa Ndiaye and (his brother in arms in the novel) Mademba Diop is also Omar Sy
", commented David Diop, who received the Booker Prize International in June. for this novel translated into 15 languages.
The idol of young people
After the reading, it's the rush: everyone wants their selfie or their dedication from Omar Sy.
Friendly and accessible to the extreme, the actor of
Intouchables
will leave no one disappointed, congratulating high school students on their success in the bac and exchanging jokes with everyone.
"
Why are there so many?
It's a business, that stuff is sold on eBay,
”he jokes with a gentleman asking him to sign several posters of the film
X-Men: Days of Future Past
.
Lots of teenagers are there.
To
meet him is really a chance.
And he said the text with heart, it was practically tailor-made for him,
”enthuses 16-year-old Anaïs.
“
Next time, it's the Cour d'Honneur!
», We throw at him, in reference to the Mecca of the Festival d'Avignon where the opening show takes place.