Grand Voyage with Africa
[SAARABA]

In Wolof, Saaraba means Paradise. In Japanese, it means Farewell. Saaraba tells of a quest, of a young girl from elsewhere. I am looking for my corner of Paradise on earth. In the streets of Nara I put down my camera, I question nature, deer, and some people. So, I meet Siga, a Senegalese woman who has been living in Osaka for eight years. She is my interpreter. Together, we go in search of happiness.

World Premiere
  • Director:Awa Moctar Gueye
  • Senegal, Japan
  • 2022
  • 10min.
  • color
  • -
  • French, Japanese
  • -

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movie trailer
Director
For years, I have always asked myself a question “what is Happiness?” Around me in Senegal, poor or rich, people seem satisfied. Personally I feel lost and especially different. Happiness has always intrigued me, does it really exist or is it a mirage? From Senegal I take with me this evil that Baudelaire called the Spleen. So, in Japan and everywhere I go, I want to know the meaning of Happiness.
Awa Moctar Gueye

Awa Gueye is a graduate of gaston berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal. After a Bachelor’s degree followed by a Master’s degree in Arts and Culture, she became a freelance screenwriter and director. She stands out for her film culture and her curiosity for aesthetics that renew cultural and artistic forms in her works. She has participated in several international meetings including the Fémis Summer University 2019 (Paris), FIDADOC 2014 (Morocco), the International Meetings of the Real Cinema 2014 (Senegal) and the Jump In workshops (Poitiers 2020).
Its register includes seven films, including four school films combining documentary techniques and films fiction. His films: The Singing of Crows and Jaar-Jaar were received beautiful remarks from the public at the Poitier International Festival and the Saint-Louis International Documentary Film Festival.

Recommendations from the NIFF Supporters

A visual poem. The artist, who has loved to fantasize since childhood, spins beautiful stories in Japan. Why don’t you join the main character who wanders in the dream world for 2 weeks and travel to Nara to search for happiness?

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