Feature film
Toubab bi
Moussa Touré · 1991
Synopsis
Soriba Samb, thirty-five, a film technician in Dakar, has never left the country. A training course at a large Paris laboratory gives him the chance to leave for the first time. In Paris he discovers a new world, lives in a transit hotel and runs up against a foreign culture, which he observes with humour. He has a brief, beautiful affair with Marie, then sets out in search of Issa, the childhood friend from whom nothing has been heard back home.
Context
The first feature film by its author, partly autobiographical, it was written with Michèle Armandi and Nathalie Lévy and produced in France by Valprod'. The role of Soriba is played by Oumar Diop, alongside Hélène Lapiower and Khalil Guèye; the music is by Ali Wagué. The film is spoken in French and in Wolof. The story combines humour and observation. It was shown at Cannes in the Un certain regard section and was released in France on 30 December 1992.
Who it is for
Just under an hour and a half, in Wolof and French. Nothing to know beforehand; the story holds together through its characters.
Prizes and reception
No known award; with its selection at Cannes, it remains the first milestone in its director's career outside Senegal.