L'Afrance

The young Senegalese El Hadj is studying in Paris. Since his residence permit has expired, he is faced with a dilemma: either he returns to Africa or he stays illegally in France. He is caught in contradictions. On the one hand, he wants to return home and use the knowledge he has acquired in the service of his country, Senegal. On the other hand, he wishes to stay where he feels at ease and is tormented by his convictions and his unfulfilled desires: the memory of the man he used to be, the image of the man he hoped to embody and the observation of the man he has now become. How can you face yourself if you feel like a traitor? Between existential questions and doubts about his identity, l’Afrance accompanied El Hadj on his way through Paris for a few days. Based on the main character, the director Alain Gomis investigates the uprooting and the unconscious aftermath of colonialism. He often films faces from very close and is keen to capture the psychological course of migration history. This intensive psychogram leads to the edge of suicide and back to the roots of one's own identity. (Festival catalogue, Locarno 2001)