Synopsen

Buried

Childhood friends meet for the first time in several years and engage in a “game” that will unexpectedly bring up former demons.

Le Sermon des Prophètes -The sermon of prophets

Since January 2016, Burkina Faso has been confronted to terrorists group attacks.
Burkina Faso lives to the rhythm of the killings of unidentified armed men. Hundred of villages were terrorized by night attacks. Protestants, Muslims, Catholics all are victims. The crisis ist a global one.These alleged jihadists or unidentified armed men have no political or social claims. These tzerrorist groups have driven millions of people from their homes, closed 4,000 schools and killed more than 100 Burkinabè. Thanks to their methods of indoctrination based on religious reasons and texts and favored by the extreme poverty that some people live in the cities and countryside of Burkina Faso.

Ashkal , 1. Preisträger Goldener Yennenga Hengst Fespaco 2023

In the Gardens of Carthage, a district of Tunis initiated by the former Regime which construction stopped at the beginning of the Revolution, two cops, Fatma and Batal, find a burnt body in one of the lots. As construction slowly resumes, they start looking into this mysterious case. When the event repeats itself, the investigation takes a puzzling turn.

Sira

Sira is a 17-year-old girl who lives in a small landlocked village. Rebellious, independent and very flirtatious, she is the object of many desires. She does not see her life in the village and dreams of returning to the city to afford a better life. While Sira’s father, Zan Coulibaly, has just accepted the marriage proposal of Doukouré, the richest merchant in the village, Namory arrives in the village after several years spent on a gold minning site. Namory, young and attractive, and apparently rich, is the perfect man for Sira. Between the two young people, a love affair develops to the point where Sira decides to defy her father’s will. To make matters worse, Sira is chosen as the chosen one to sacrifice a ritual that has been held for 200 years in the village. Told by his mother that Sira’s father is the man who murdered his late father, Namory sets out to seek revenge against Sira’s family. He will therefore convince Sira to lose her virginity to cancel her choice for the ritual and force her father to accept their union. Sira’s father takes this act as an attack on the dignity of his daughter and the honor of her family. Sira, after being instrumentalized by Namory, will turn against her father who, in response to her attitude, will try to take her life. Unfortunately, Sira’s mother will pay the price. Sira, disinherited by the Council of Elders, leaves the village. She undertakes the journey to find the man of her life, Namory. The dream life presented by Namory is pure illusion. Sira discovers another dark side of her lover and learns that she has AIDS and is pregnant. She was contaminated by Namory, also contaminated by one of his many girlfriends on a gold minning site. Sira sinks into a depression that will lead her to a suicide attempt. Saved in extremis, she will try to preserve her relationship with Namory by convincing him to agree to be tested and undergo treatment. Namory, in denial, refuses his status and leaves the gold minning site.

No U-Turn

I am going to retake a journey that I made 21 years ago, as a young man, when I left Nigeria to try and reach Europe by road. On my journey, I turned back on the advice of a stranger. Why do other young men and women continue? I want to meet West African youth migrating today to search for a better life and through conversations with them, I will try to understand their challenges and hopes as well as the choices they make. With images of people lured into slavery and bondage along the routes in North Africa all over social media and the internet, most young people are aware of the dangers of traveling undocumented by road. More and more women are joining the ranks of those who risk this journey. I want to meet the women who take such a dangerous risk and find out what this means for evolving gender roles in African society. This journey is a reflection on own my coming-of-age story, a road movie through the landscapes and cultures of West Africa.

I am a Nollywood filmmaker embarking on my first documentary film. I am going to retake a journey that I made 21 years ago, as a young man, when I left Nigeria to try and reach Europe by road. These days there are endless images circulated on the internet about the fate of those who go on this journey. I want to meet those who are taking the same trip to search for a better life, and through conversations with them, I will try to understand the aspirations of young people in West Africa. When my friends came upon the idea to go to Europe by road, I got on board as I was looking for a plan that could help to improve my economic circumstances. As I embark on this journey, it is very interesting to note that young people are still going on this journey today for the same reasons. The current rate of youth unemployment in Nigeria is 52.65% leaving young people with the option of getting into internet fraud, crime, political thuggery, religious extremism, and other vices. Given these options, for many young people, the idea to go to Europe is very attractive. On my journey, I turned back on the advice of a stranger. Why do other young men and women continue? With images of people lured into slavery and bondage along the routes in North Africa all over social media and the internet, most young people are aware of the dangers of traveling undocumented by road. More and more women are also joining the ranks of those who risk this journey. I want to meet the women who take such a dangerous risk and find out what this means for evolving gender roles in African society.

This journey is a reflection on own my coming-of-age story, a road movie through the landscapes and cultures of West Africa, and an investigation into the lived realities of young people in Africa today.

I was born into a polygamous Igbo family and lost my father at an early age. As a result, I took on the responsibility of looking after my family as a young man. At the end of elementary school, I found an apprenticeship with a spare parts dealer and according to our Igbo practice, I would work for him for five years and he would repay me by ‘settling’ me in a spare parts business of my own. When the time for his end of the deal was nearing, my master conveniently orchestrated a fall out with me, ensuring that he didn’t have to settle me. I was a young man, ready to start his life, but now I was stuck without a plan. Some friends started talking about the possibility to reach Europe by road. There were stories about young Nigerians who had travelled to a Spanish island town called Las Palmas where there were fruit picking jobs that paid well and allowed them to send home money and cars. I had been saving up some money and scraped together anything else I could to join the boys on this great adventure. So we set off excitedly, talking loud in the buses as we went along. On the bus between Gao and Bamako in Mali, a man approached us as he had overheard us discussing our plans in our home language Igbo. He warned us that the journey we were embarking on was full of dangers. He started recounting the story of a bus that set off through the desert and Western Sahara. The driver lost his way in the desert and kept driving around in circles until they ran out of fuel. They were stranded, ran out of provisions, and eventually died in the desert. After this revelation, I was certain that I would not be going further on this journey. I decided to turn around and go back home. On the stop in Bamako, we were debating the next step with my friends when another Igbo-speaking Nigerian overheard us. This time it was a man we dubbed ‘Messiah’ who told us he worked as a sailor in Austria and was on his way to pick up his wife and kids in the Gambia. He offered to travel with us to the Gambia and help us apply to work on the ships to go to Austria with him. This to us was better than we had imagined, so we decided to go with him. On crossing the border into the Gambia, he offered to keep our cash for us in order to avoid customs tax. We agreed and let him keep it for the first few days after we arrived. Within a week, however, he disappeared with all our money and we were stranded in Banjul. We quickly found a Nigerian community and joined the church where I participated in theatre and film productions. Before long, I found my calling as a filmmaker in the Gambia, first being cast as a lead in a major local production, and eventually learning to produce and direct. When I returned to Nigeria two years later, I had found my voice and my way in life.

Many who have attempted to travel to Europe by road have not been as lucky as me. More and more reports escalate around the direness of the situation, yet more and more young people are making the crossing. I want to know why.

The story I tell will be alike a switch of timelines. From Lagos (Nigeria) to Tangier (Morocco), via Cotonou (Benin), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Bamako (Mali) and Casablanca (Morocco), I will meet all these migrants. This time, there will be no U-Turn.

I will meet West African youth migrating today and try to understand their challenges and hopes as well as the choices they make. Because for most people on these roads, Europe represents a life dream. This is an existential dream. This is not really about Europe, the place. It’s about opportunity and a chance to self-actualize, contributing to their society.

What are the stories of these men and women crossing the borders throughout West Africa and how is this trend of more women migrating shaping the societies they come from and the communities they land in? These women travelling through these perilous roads keep hope as their constant companion. That hope is like the moon, sometimes full in its abundance and often waning nothing. For many people the idea of returning unsuccessful is unthinkable. What can we do to ensure that people can dream in their own countries? Why is it unrealistic to dream of a comfortable life in a continent of abundant resources?

Our father the devil


An African refugee ́s quiet existence in a sleepy mountain town in the
south of France is upended by the arrival of a charismatic catholic
priest whom she recognizes as the warlord who slaughtered her
family.