Wallay
Ajyal Competition
Berni Goldblat / Feature Narrative / France, Burkina Faso, Qatar / 2017 / 84 min / Colour / DCP2K
In Dioula, French / Arabic, English subtitles
Interests: Comedy, Drama, Youth
MENA Premiere
Synopsis
When 13-year-old Ady gets himself into trouble in a French suburb, his father decides to send his son to live for a time under the care of his authoritarian uncle in a remote village in Burkina Faso. At first, Ady thinks he’s on a week’s vacation, only to discover that his holiday is permanent – at least, until he pays back the cash he stole from Dad. Like any teen, Ady is addicted to his smartphone and his French rap music – but limited electricity and communication soon mean he is enveloped in a culture and lifestyle that are radically different from the Western style of living that he is used to.
Eventually, Ady’s coming-of-age ordeal brings him to a place where materialism is less important than family, and his discovery of his roots allows him to cultivate a more Burkinabe sensibility. Surrounded by new sights – the gorgeous African countryside not the least of them – and ways of being, and encompassed by familial love that is far stronger than anything he felt in France, Ady remodels his European outlook with African inflections and develops the compassion that will make him a better international citizen.
About the Directors
Since 1999, Berni Goldblat has been directing, producing and distributing films, primarily documentaries in West Africa. In 2006, he established Les films du Djabadjah, an independent production company based in Burkina Faso. Since 2007, Goldblat has been a member of the jury of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), the African equivalent of the Academy Awards for African films held annually in Nigeria. Since 2011, he has been training documentary screenwriters. He has organised and led six international documentary writing workshops for young African authors in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Since 2012, Goldblat has been President of the Association de Soutien du Cinéma au Burkina Faso (ASCBF), which is saving Bobo-Dioulasso’s Ciné Guimbi.
Credits
- Director
- Berni Goldblat
- Screenwriter
- David Bouchet
- Producer
- Nicolas Anthomé
- Editor
- Laurent Sénéchal
- Executive Producer
- Faissol Gnonlonfin
- Co-Producer
- Berni Goldblat
- Music
- Vincent Ségal
- Cinematographer
- Martin Rit
- Sales Company
- bathysphere
- Production Company
- Les Films du Djabadjah
- Sound
- Mathieu Perrot
- Assistant Director
- Victor Baussonnie
- Cast
- Makhan Nathan Diarra, Ibrahim Koma, Hamadoun Kassogué, Habib Dembélé, Josephine Kaboré, Georgette Paré, Sophie Cattani