Gladiators

It all started with a dream: "It's time for you to try to explain the mysteries! Find the griot who'll bring you to me, and when you recognize me, circle around me three times, rub me with buttermilk, and let me know what you want. But be careful: don't forget the buttermilk!" That's how I was drawn into the boabab's spirit. It was in the year 2000. The year of the "Sopi". If the boabab was Senegal's emblem, through the tree, I should understand the country.

First-person accounts of slaves, ship owners, traders and colonists recounting the struggle to end the Atlantic slave trade. Drawing on the logbooks, letters and diaries of the victims and witnesses to one of history’s most brutal eras, depicted through dramatic recreations, bolstered by authentic drawings and period documents, featuring insight from historical experts around the world.

The TGV? No, it is not the famous French high-speed train, but instead the rickety and colourful bus operated, driven, repaired and, if need be, pushed by the intrepid "Rambo". This time, the trip between Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and Conakry, the capital of Guinea, is outright dangerous: the road crosses the territory of the Bijagos, who have launched an unexpected and violent insurrection. Rambo finds several odd passengers (with a handful of sheep) who are ready, for various legitimate or untold reasons, to take every risk to reach Conakry. And the TGV sets off on an eventful journey...

Baye Laye is the captain of a fishing pirogue. Like many of his Senegalese compatriots, he sometimes dreams of new horizons, where he can earn a better living for his family. When he is offered to lead one of the many pirogues that head towards Europe via the Canary Island, he reluctantly accepts the job, knowing full-well the dangers that lie ahead. Leading a group of 30 men who don't all speak the same language, some of whom have never seen the sea, Baye Laye will confront many perils in order to reach the distant coasts of Europe.

Soriba Samb is a Senegalese who has just received a much sought after internship to study filmmaking in Paris. Soriba heads to Paris, accompanied by the five-year old son of a friend who he believes to be still living in Paris. On arrival he struggles to find the boy’s father. In addition to coping with his new internship, Soriba has to also spend time tracking down the boy’s father ‘Issa’.

Nobleman Jean-Francois de la Plaine is exiled to serve as governor of a West African colony.

The film opens with a striking image: seven children in rags, aged 7 to 19, crawl out from under a Brazzaville market stall where they have spent the night. Moussa Touré picks up with them there and then continues to film as they go about their business in the city, looking for food and odd jobs. Taking advantage of his closeness to the children, the filmmaker sets out to take each back to his family. But the road back is beset with difficulties that exemplify the state of Congolese society.

During the 1997 war in Congo DRC former Zaire, Francine, a 12-year-old Congolese girl, was recruited by the Rwandan army and its Ugandan ally, led by Laurent Kabila to oust MOBUTU from power. 20 years later, the Francine's mum comes to visit her. She tells her her story.