Comme un lion (2012)

In a village in Senegal, young Mitri, who was raised by his grandmother, dreams of becoming a football star. Spotted by a talent scout, he gets the chance to travel to France, thanks to money from the family orchard and from the association in which the village women pool their savings. The contract he is supposed to sign in France is meant to enable his grandmother to repay the borrowed money. Abandoned at a stadium by a crooked agent, Mitri wanders around before being taken in at an African community home in the Paris region, then placed in the care of social services, who make him understand that he needs to build a plan for his life. He eventually ends up in the Pays de Montbéliard in Franche-Comté, not far from the Peugeot factories and the famous Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard. However, he has to face a much more mundane reality: while working as a waiter in a restaurant and living in a group home, he meets Serge, coach of a modest local club... Bitter and convinced that he has failed in his career, Serge tries to crush the teenager’s hopes, but, moved by empathy, ultimately helps him improve his skills.