Why do so many young Africans dream of moving to Europe? Are they aware of the dangers of the journey and the harsh reality that awaits them? Sunu Gaal (Our cayuco) follows the lives of several young people in Senegal through the eyes of Mariatou, an 18-year-old girl struggling to find a way to travel to Europe; Arfa, a young fisherman; and Aliou, who bets on the internet to finance her trip. The documentary presents a generation fully aware of the racism in Europe, the new colonialism that exploits the resources of their country, and the feminist desires of a new wave of girls demanding more freedom.
My approach to filmmaking involves becoming deeply engaged with the lives and stories of the protagonists in order to show reality in all its complexity. It all began with encounters and the search for protagonists over the course of two years, and ended with more than 100 hours of filmed material. My main interest lies in the people I meet along the way. The relationship is not intellectual or conceptual — it is vital, visceral, intense, and sometimes even impossible. The film’s poetics emerge from this intense encounter between people.
DATA SHEET:
Genre: Social documentary
Duration: 72 min
Directed and written: Josep T. París
Executive producer: Marc Petitpierre
Assistant director and producer: Adama Diémé
Cinematographer: Álex García
Editing: Iván Guarnizo and Josep T. París
Sound: Tidiane Diedhiou
Color grading: Emilio Sacco
Sound mix: Federico Disandro
Music: Josh Doughty
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS:
- Festival de Málaga – Official Selection, 28th Edition
- Festival dei Popoli (Florence) – Official Selection, 66th Edition
- DocsBarcelona – Cat&Docs Section, 28th Edition
- European Children’s Film Association – Special Mention
- Olympia International Film Festival (Greece) – Best Documentary Award
- Let’s Docs Festival (Poland) – Young Docs Award
- Addis International Film Festival – Official Selection, 20th Edition
- Doc. Coimbra (Portugal) – Official Selection
- Ziguinchor Film Festival (Senegal) – Official Selection
- El Clam – Festival Internacional de Cinema Social de Catalunya – Official Selection
- Festival Protesta (Vic) – Official Selection
- Som Cinema (Lleida) – Special Mention
- Festival de Cinema MER – Migracions, Exili i Refugi – Official Selection
