Waiting for Men

The former French colonies in Central and West Africa have been independent since 1960, but most of these countries still use the currency of the former oppressor: the CFA franc. It was linked to the French franc when it was introduced, so the national bank in Paris controlled monetary policy. Now the currency has a fixed exchange rate with the euro. The link with the European currency strongly influences the monetary policy of CFA countries. And that means the value of the CFA franc is defined by political decisions taken elsewhere, rather than by the domestic economy.

Amin has come from Senegal to work in France, leaving behind his wife Aïcha, and their three children. He leads a solitary life in France, where the only space he occupies is his home and the building sites on which he works. Most of his earnings are sent to Senegal. One day, he meets a woman, Gabrielle, and a relationship is born.

« Traces, women's imprints » is a film that ventures to the discovery of three grandmothers kassenas (Burkina Faso,) their granddaughter, and the exclusively feminine art of this region's mural paintings. Between these women's portraits and a traditional art form, « Traces » is a painting on paintings that reflects upon transmission, education and memory in the context of a world in mutation.

The democracy that the first president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, introduced was followed by almost three decades of dictatorship under Blaise Compaoré. With the inauguration of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in 2015, Burkina Faso finally has a democratically elected president again. According to rapper, poet and activist Serge Bambara, the country is now in a transitional period. Sankara's democratic ideals have received fresh impetus, but what does the hope for a working democracy mean when it has already been systematically destroyed in the past? As 'Smockey', Bambara records socially-conscious rap in line with his political activism. Uncertainty awaits Kaboré's presidency and Smockey monitors it all.