Selika and Karidja — Selika Lazevski, Karidja Touré

It’s been 3 years since 23-year-old French actress Karidja Touré’s break-out film, “Girlhood,” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim, before being released in several major markets around the world, including right here in the USA. The film, which was also her very first on-screen appearance, picked up several award nominations and wins throughout its travels, including a Most Promising Actress César Award nomination (France’s equivalent of the Oscars) for its star, Ms. Touré.

One may have reasonably hoped that all the attention and acclaim the film and her performance received would’ve led to even more acting work soon afterward; alas, that hasn’t quite happened. Since “Girlhood,” she was reportedly in contention for the role of Storm in “X-Men: Apocalypse,” but the part eventually went to Alexandra Shipp, and in 2015, she appeared in the music video for Louane Emera’s single “Jeune (j’ai envie).”

She’s also a regular at top-flight fashion shows, often dressed in the finest regalia. Just check out her Instagram page, which she calls her “fashion diary.” At a slender 5ft 8, maybe there’s a modeling career for her to be had.

But in terms of acting, we learned recently that Ms. Touré is starring in a film written and directed by Sybil H. Mair, titled “The Adventures of Selika,” which tells the coming-of-age story of Selika, a young African princess displaced by war, who was brought up by a noble family in France during the Second Empire (1861-63). Now a young woman, following an unfortunate incident, Selika is forced from the security and comfort of the life she has known. She sets off for Paris, and determines to forge her own curious and independent path in the world.

The story is based on the real-life story of Selika Lazevski, a 19th century high society equestrian. The film reimagines the amazing beginnings of this enigmatic figure of whom little is currently known.

Touré of course is playing the young Selika; she is joined by Filippo Scarafia, Krystian Godlewski, Jennifer Daley and Luke Elliott.

The film – which is a short by the way, not a feature – will be released on Easter (April 16). Once that happens, we will share it here, as long as it’s made available online by the filmmaker.

No trailer at this time. But we’ve been granted a first look at the film via a series of official images embedded below.

The Adventures of Selika

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