San Francisco Frontiers - African diaspora's plural identities on screen in Berlin

According to festival director Tricia Tuttle, "belonging, and the experience of living between worlds" is a key theme on this year's programme and it is particularly present in two films in the festival's official competition.

"In a Whisper" by Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid and "Dao" by Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis each tackle the subject of dual identity in their own way.

"Dao" depicts two interlaced events: a wedding near Paris and a funeral ceremony in Guinea-Bissau.

The film moves between the two in a sweeping, polyphonic narrative blending performances by professional and amateur actors, portraying a multifaceted Franco-African community refreshingly free from stereotypes.

Shot over 20 days (10 in France and 10 in Guinea-Bissau), the film adopts an experimental approach, even including screen tests and casting interviews to unveil the characters.

- Scattered families -

As a child, Gomis was deeply affected by the funeral ceremony held for his father in his village in Guinea-Bissau, the very place he chose to shoot the African portion of his film.

Later, "I attended a wedding and thought that those two experiences really spoke to each other, and that they also said something about these families that are somewhat scattered," Gomis told AFP in an interview.

The film presents a swath of characters from the diaspora rarely represented in French cinema, centered on Gloria, the mother of the bride in France and the daughter of the deceased in Africa.

For Gomis, addressing the question of dual identity means dealing with "different ways of talking about the same thing at heart".

"Committing to someone through marriage, or facing grief are experiences we share across the planet," he said.

"So having two readings of these moments is, I think tremendously enriching."

- 'Not at home anywhere' -

For "In a Whisper", Bouzid also delved into her own family history, filming in her late grandmother's house in the Tunisian city of Sousse.

"The desire to make the film came from wanting to film this house where I spent all my summers, a house that, to me, is very charismatic, cinematic," Bouzid told AFP, adding that the film was "very strongly inspired" by her grandmother.

Bouzid grew up in Tunisia but moved to France at the age of 18 and now lives between the two countries.

Her story follows Lilia, a Tunisian living in Paris, who returns to Tunisia for her uncle's funeral.

The viewer learns early on that she is in a relationship with another woman which she has to hide from her family in Tunisia, where same-sex relationships are illegal.

As she spends more time with her family, she gradually lifts the veil on her uncle's life and learns more about what led to his death.

While the "female characters are inspired by figures in my family, the story is fictional", said Bouzid.

The film portrays the difficulty Lilia has in reconciling her sexual orientation with her cultural and familial roots.

"At the heart of the film is a mixed couple, a French woman and a Tunisian woman," said Bouzid.

Lilia "is never completely at home anywhere, and that's something that interests me greatly," she went on.

"It's also a film about the transmission of generational trauma across three generations in a family, and how taboos, unspoken things and secrets travel."

M.Powell--SFF