Promised Sky is a soul-searching film that puts a sympathetic, human face on one of the thorniest issues of our time-immigration.
French Tunisian director Erige Sehiri puts a human face on this ire-raising subject by dropping her camera directly into the middle of the messy lives of four Ivory Coast immigrants who separately find their way to North Africa’s Tunisia in search of a new life.
“The fact that I tell the story through the eyes of four female characters and set the film in Africa is something that puts a totally different spin on it, and makes it that much more real and personal,” director Sehiri said in a recent interview.
“First, the subject of immigration is a hot button issue around the world. Everyone is talking about it, but there a lot of misconceptions. This film puts another face on it that hopefully, will make people think.”
Sehiri pointed out that most people think that most African immigrants make their way to Europe, “when in reality, the exact opposite is true,” Sehiri pointed out. “Eighty per cent of African immigrants actually migrate within Africa. Only twenty per cent move to Europe.”
The film has already garnered significant praise and attention. At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, it was selected to open the Un Certain Regard section. One of its stars, Aissa Maiga, was nominated for the festival’s prestigious Cesar Award.
Promised Sky tells the story of four generations of females who find themselves in Tunisia under very contrasting circumstances.
Marie (Aissa Maiga) is the most established of the group. She is a former journalist who also is a pastor. Having lived in Tunisia for ten years, she has become a mainstay of her community by establishing a church.
Naney (Debora Lobe Naney) is a high-spirited single mom who is undocumented. She was forced to leave her child at home to seek a better life. Tunisia has proven a hard road to travel. Yet she forges ahead with true grit and determination.
Jolie (Laetitia Ky) is a student and, unlike the others, is documented. She quickly learns that papers or no, her social standing as an immigrant is a Scarlet Letter that is a magnet for scorn.
And then there’s little Kenza (Estelle Kenza Dogbo), the child who miraculously survived a migrant shipwreck and finds herself, like the others, under Marie’s roof and the influence her nourishing spirit.
Sehiri is first and foremost a documentary filmmaker, and at times, ‘Sky,’ with the probing camera eye of cinematographer Frida Marzouk, has that look and feel.
“I want this film to make people think. I also want people who see it to feel Empathy. That’s what’s missing in the world today. I want people to walk away from this movie with the feeling that no matter how different we may seem on the outside, we’re all the same inside.”
The 33rd New York African Film Festival (NYAFF), is a month-long cinematic celebration that will unfold across New York City throughout the month of May. illuminating stories that tell the history and vision of Africa and its diasporas, films will be shown in venues around the Five Burroughs, including theaters, cultural centers, and public spaces.
The festival will present more than 100 films from over 30 countries across Africa and its Diasporas. For more information visit filmlinc.org.
