Waiting for Happiness
Length: 02:00 Type of program: World Cinema
Written and directed by Abderrahmane Sissako (Life on Earth)
Mauritania, 100 minutes
Official Selection � New York, Toronto and Cannes Film Festivals
Winner � FIPRESCI PRIZE, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival
Abderrahmane Sissako unveils a new vision of Africa with this luxuriously rhythmic, carefully observed film. Nouadhibou is a small seaside village on the Mauritanian coast, and amongst its white-washed buildings and melodic songs passed down through generations, lives intertwine while waiting for a hypothetical happiness.
After a long absence, the seventeen-year-old Abdallah visits his mother before emigrating to Europe. Unable to speak the local language, the melancholic young man finds himself a stranger in his own country. Traditional, colorful fabrics interest him much less than the latest European trends, and though he shies away from village customs and festivities, Abdallah watches this touching, foreign universe unfold around him with sheer sensitivity.
�Waiting for Happiness is Mr. Sissako�s nod to a small hamlet�s ability � no, its need � to greet encroaching advancement with a shrug�We can only guess that Mr. Sissako is also using the movie as a way of dealing with the possibility that he�s being hailed as Africa�s next big thing. It�s a momentous responsibility to shoulder, and like Abdallah, the director is still in the process of establishing who he is.� � Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times
To learn more, or to purchase this program, visit Artificial Eye.
CINEMONDO
This film is part of Link TV�s new world cinema series Cinemondo, premiering entertaining and award-winning foreign films from some of the world�s most talented directors. For a full list of films, click here.
