Demba
Fall Grants 2023 - Post-Production Stage
Mamadou Dia / Feature Narrative / Senegal, Germany, Qatar / 130 min / Original Language: Fulani, Pulaar
Synopsis
55-year-old Demba is about to retire after 30 years of service at the city hall in his small town in Northern Senegal. That hot summer, as the second anniversary of his wife’s passing approaches, he realizes he just can’t “shake it off.” As his mental health deteriorates, he discovers a new connection with his once-estranged son. Grief and depression are so alike that for years, the American Psychiatric Association has urged doctors not to diagnose major depression in individuals who have recently lost a loved one. But what does that mean for a society that does not have a word for depression and where psychosocial disorders remain taboo?
Credits
- Director
- Mamadou Dia
- Screenwriter
- Mamadou Dia
- Producer
- Maba Ba, Nicole Gerhards
- Production Company
- Joyedidi, NiKo Film
About the Director
Mamadou Dia is a Senegalese director who obtained his master’s degree in directing and writing from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. His feature film ‘Baamum Nafi (Nafi’s father in Fulani)’ premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2019, where he won the Best First Feature Award and the Golden Leopard. The film has been shown in over 80 festivals worldwide. 'Baamum Nafi' was Senegal’s official entry for the Oscars 2021. With his company Joyedidi, they toured Senegal with an inflatable screen to show the film in open-air theatres.