Ellie Foumbi

“As a BAFTA Breakthrough, I hope to continue to expand my community of fellow filmmakers, while networking with other industry professionals who may provide key support and guidance as I tackle my next project.”

Born in Cameroon and raised in the suburbs of New York City, Ellie Foumbi was introduced to European cinema in her French-American high school and to the works of classical French playwrights like Molière and Racine. These formative years greatly deepened her love of storytelling and nurtured a desire to pursue acting

Ellie’s Breakthrough Project is her award-winning debut feature, Our Father, the Devil (2022), an ethical and psychological thriller about an African immigrant living in a small town in the south of France whose life is upended by the arrival of a charismatic priest with whom she’s convinced she shares a heavy past in her homeland. The film dissects the emotional complexities of trauma, power, guilt, catharsis, and the devils hiding within us all.