MMM Film Sales has picked up worldwide rights to Amartei Armar’s debut feature, Our Time Will Come, ahead of its world premiere in the Filmmakers of the Present competition of the 79th Locarno Film Festival. The 105-minute Ghanaian-French-Saudi drama was shot in Twi, Ga and Pidgin.

Written and directed by Armar, the film follows two orphans, Owusu and Adobea, as they cross the Ghanaian countryside in search of their last legitimate parent, hoping to reclaim their identities. Upon reaching Accra, they encounter the Jackals, a group of abandoned young people surviving through lock-picking and theft, and their original quest is thrown dramatically off course.

Idrissu Tontie Jr and Dorothy Adobea Tandoh play the two young protagonists. The cast also includes Emmanuel Wilberforce, Barbara Yong-Jin, Emmanuel Owusu Ofori, O’Bryan Nana Kwame Enyan, Gabriel Narh Addo, Nelly Bilson and Kwame Brenya.

“We were immediately drawn to Our Time Will Come for its unique perspective on the search for identity and belonging, carried by its two extraordinary young protagonists against the backdrop of an ever-buzzing Accra,” said the MMM Film team. “We are delighted to present the remarkably assured debut feature by a young filmmaker who had already been noticed with his short film in the Cannes Short Film Competition.”

Armar’s 15-minute short Tsutsuɛ competed in said short-film competition in 2022. On Our Time Will Come, John Kwame Markin handled the cinematography, Marie-Pierre Frappier edited the film, and the score was composed by Amine Bouhafa and KOG, aka Kweku Sackey. Rafael Norvixoxo, Ibrahim Donkoh and producer Yemoh Ike served as art directors. Selima Awudu served as production manager.

Our Time Will Come was produced by Ike for Ghana’s AKA Entertainment, in co-production with Sébastien Hussenot for France’s La Luna Productions. Armar also serves as executive producer. CANAL+ International and the Red Sea Fund, an initiative of the Red Sea International Film Festival, are co-producers. The project was also made with backing from the Fonds Image de la Francophonie and AnaVentures.