In-person
Saturday, April 29th, 5:00pm Q&A and Cocktails to follow - Maysles Documentary Center
All films with English sub-titles
The Departure (Le départ) bySaid Hamich Beniarbi, 2020, 24 mins, Morocco
Morocco, 2004. That summer, eleven-year-old Adil spent his days playing with his group of friends and waiting for the last Olympic Games of his idol, runner Hicham El Guerrouj. The arrival of his father and his older brother, who had come from France for a few days, would mark him forever.
Bad Seeds ( Mauvaises herbes) by Claude Cloutier, 2022, 6 mins ,Quebec/Canada
Weeds takes us into a surprising world populated by carnivorous plants that change appearance like a chameleon changes from one color to another. The director makes growth rhyme with competition, evolution with competition, and sets up an astonishing duel that looks like a western, the cold war, and a board game.
Mulika by Maisha Maene, 2022, 13 mins, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Returning from space after a mission to protect natural resources, an astronaut returns to the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Decked out in a futuristic metallic outfit, he roams the streets under the amused and curious gaze of the locals. Quickly alienated by his neighbors and loved ones, he tries to find a way to reconnect with his identity and his roots. Mulika plays on the border between fiction and documentary with her Afrofuturist themes, using science fiction to explore issues rooted in reality, namely the exploitation of minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the repercussions on its people, who do not benefit from it.
The ghosts of Sa’a (Les fantômes de Sa’a) by Cynthia Etaba, 2022, 22 mins, Cameroon,
The film explores the question of the appropriation of colonial heritage in a district of central Cameroon: Sa'a. Sa'a was created by the Germans at the beginning of the 20th century, and then occupied by the French. Today, the vast majority of buildings left behind by the settlers are in an advanced state of disrepair, and for some in ruins. What gives the city this ghostly appearance? Why does the population who inherited these colonial buildings not reclaim this architectural heritage? Using her childhood memories, through fictitious characters created in a comic book style, as well as testimonies of the inhabitants, the director explores the history of the city of Sa'a with the watermark, the questioning following: what is the relationship of the population of Sa'a with its heritage, its history and its past?
The Return (Le retour) by Isabelle Christiane Kouraogo, 2021, 16 mins Morocco-Ivory coast
Salimata, 23, a 4th year student in Morocco, learns that her sick mother is dying. Having no money to pay for a plane ticket, she decides to take the road to go to her country in order to spend her last moments there with her mother. And this trip will be marked by her meeting with Khalid who will take her aboard his van.
Mawbe by Mame Selemane Diege, 2022, 9 mins, Senegal
In Dakar, four young apprentice mechanics forge a very strong friendship, led by Mawbé, a disabled person. Despite the difficulties, the latter keeps his feet on the ground thanks to the solidarity of his gang. On a daily basis, he teaches them the trade. One day, Mawbé is the victim of an accident. The children decide to make him a gift…
Student Short Film winner 2023