Conakry, the Republic of Guinea, 1999, during the summer holidays. A glimpse into the lives of Yaguine Koïta and Fodé Tounkara, two teenagers who roam the city and dream as they watch the passing planes. Dreams of the future, of studies and a better world. They mount a project that they hope will draw Western leaders’ attention to the miseries of Africa. Gahité Fofana films Guinea at length to show the reality underlying the project of the two youngsters. The film furnishes the small details and anecdotes that help the spectator to imagine a country and its everyday life, like children doing their homework under the airport lamps. Fofana’s Africa is not one of desperation or poverty, but of survival, which is the only prospect for the impoverished youth.
M.F.M.
