• “Dao” ranks among the three films in official competition at the 76th Berlinale and marks Alain Gomis’ second bid for the Golden Bear.

• The film premiered on February 14 at the festival and will release in French cinemas on April 29.

• Alain Gomis shot the 3-hour-5-minute feature over 20 days in 2023 between Guinea-Bissau and France.

The world premiere of “Dao” took place on Saturday, February 14, during the 76th Berlinale. The distributors scheduled a conventional theatrical release in France for April 29. Alain Gomis returned to major international cinema events with this new work after he won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize in 2017 with Félicité.

“I do not know whether people will read it the way you want to show it: powerful, extraordinary, strange,” Cineuropa commented, quoting one of the characters in the feature film.

Dao or the Singular Story of a Return to Roots

The film sets its action between two universes. Gloria, portrayed by Katy Correa, celebrates her daughter’s wedding in the suburbs of Paris. A few weeks earlier, in Guinea-Bissau, she had taken part in a ritual that elevated her late father to the rank of ancestor. Between these two ceremonies, one turned toward life and the other toward memory, she crosses the boundaries between reality and fiction, and between past and present. This journey allows her to reconnect with her history, find her place and reach a form of serenity.

Behind the Scenes

The lead actress devotes her full presence to the film, which runs for an unusual 3 hours and 5 minutes, through her deep and haunting voice. The casting brings together several established actors alongside non-professional participants, and the director uses this approach to blend fiction and reality. The other principal performers include Samir Guesmi, D’Johé Kouadio, Mike Etienne, Fara Baco, Nicolas Gomis and Béatrice Mendy.

The Franco-Senegalese filmmaker shot his sixth feature film in 2023 over 20 days, including 10 days in Guinea-Bissau and 10 days in the Yvelines region near Paris.

Alain Gomis conceived the idea for the film in 2018 after attending his father’s funeral in Guinea-Bissau, an experience that deeply marked him. “It is a film made of small details placed side by side, which intertwine to form a mosaic. It gained momentum thanks to these tiny details,” the director of this French-Senegalese-Guinean co-production explained as the film competes to place another African work on the Berlinale’s prize list after Dahomey by Matip Diop in 2024.

Ubrick F. Quenum