All Projects

Wallay

Fall Grants 2016

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.

Credits

Director

Berni Goldblat

Screenwriter

David Bouchet

Producer

Nicolas Anthomé

Executive Producer

Faissol Gnonlonfin

Production Company

Les Films du Djabadjah

Production Company

Les Films du Djabadjah

About the Director

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.

Awards and Festival History

Festivals

"Berlinale 2017, Generation (WP)
Panorama Fespaco 2017
Cannes Écrans Juniors 2017
FIFF Namur 2017
BFI London FF 2017
Seattle IFF 2017
Carthage FF 2017
Durban IFF 2017
Champs Elysées FF 2017
Zlin Film Festival - IFFCY (Czech Republic) 2017
Tehran IFFCY 20

Awards

Polis Srl Award, Festival del Cinema Africano, d’Asia e America Latina 2017
Audience Award, Tarifa FF 2017
Audience Award, Festival Cinémas d'Afrique d’Angers 2017
Best Actor Award (Makan Nathan Diarra), FESTICAB Burundi 2017

Contacts

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