Six years ago, friends Inza and Kader from Ivory Coast risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean. Kader, an optimistic man of action, now has a residence permit and a job in Italy. Inza, nicknamed Bourgeois, traveled on to France, where he lives undocumented with little prospect of being granted asylum.
According to Kader, Inza is rather lazy; he takes little initiative and mainly relies on other people, including his girlfriend Maeve. The friends’ different attitudes to life have led to different outcomes, yet they also have much in common. For both of them, family comes first. They hope one day to return to Ivory Coast, wealthy and successful. But can they also make a life for themselves in Europe?
Filmmaker Joël Akafou has made a film about Inza before: Traverser (2020). The close bond between director and subject is palpable, and Akafou also shows the most vulnerable, difficult moments at close range. Kader struggles with the expectations of his family in Ivory Coast, while Inza prepares for adult life as a husband and father. The future turns out to be elusive.
IDFA x De Balie
De Balie has selected six of the best films featured at IDFA. Documentaries on a wide range of subjects, that share a common thread: they are auteur-driven works, created with a distinct artistic vision. Films that use the camera as a tool of expression, rather than mere registration. Join us after each screening for a conversation hosted by De Balie, with filmmakers and notable guests.
Speakers
- Direcotr
- Joël Richmond Mathieu Akafou
- Length
- 95 min
- Country
- France, Italy, Ivory Coast, Senegal
- Taal
- Bambara, French, Italian
For ten years, this coming-of-age documentary follows Gabin, a sensitive teenager growing up in the French countryside. Between the expectations of his hardworking parents and his own dreams, he gradually finds his own path. Gabin doesn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps. He has no desire to be a butcher; he wants to work
On October 7, 2023, Israeli filmmaker Anet Even lost her home and friends in the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz. Now, she returns to document what remains there—destroyed homes and the stench of death—and what is happening on the other side of the barrier that has stood there since the 1990s. A genocide is
