Atlantics director Mati Diop on how her acclaimed debut creates a complex portrait of Senegalese youth

Mati Diop is a French-Senegalese actor-turned-director who just released her first feature film, Atlantics. This year has been a big one for the filmmaker.

Diop became the first black woman to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival, and she was honoured with the inaugural Mary Pickford Award for outstanding female talent at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. That's where q's Tom Power caught up with her to talk about her latest film, Atlantics.

The film is a ghostly story of lost love, but it was inspired by the real journeys of Senegalese migrants who have sailed to Europe. Instead of focusing on the migrants at sea, Diop made the creative decision to tell the story from the perspective of the women left behind.

Atlantics is out on Netflix today. The film won the Grand Prix second prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

Download our podcast or click the 'Listen' link near the top of this page to hear the full conversation with Mati Diop.

— Produced by ​Vanessa Greco