Tunisia, Belgium / 2022 / 31mins / Documentary / French, Hausa, English, Tamashek

A motorbike is speeding through Niger. On board is Moussa, a young Tuareg, and hidden in his vehicle are fifty tablets of tramadol, one of the most popular narcotics in West Africa. Following Moussa, we meet the smugglers and users of this opioid.

Adoum Moussa

Adoum Moussa is a dedicated freelance journalist and researcher from Niger. His work primarily centers around human rights violations, security concerns, and cross-border trafficking in the Sahel and Maghreb regions.

Adoum met fellow investigative journalist, Morgane Wirtz, and the two began working together on her documentary Teghadez Agadez. This film, directed by Morgane, presents the point of view of smugglers and migrants on migration. Adoum sometimes takes his place behind the camera and helps Morgane to access the places where the migrants live. This first feature film won the special mentions in the international documentary section at Vues d'Afrique festival, in Montreal, and the award for best feature documentary at the Nova Frontier Film Festival, in New York.

Meanwhile, Morgane and Adoum work together for ARD, a German news channel for which they direct several reports. They then embark on a new project: Tramadol, shot in Niger and edited in Tunisia, where Morgane now lives. In this short film, the two directors follow a smuggler across Niger. On board his motorbike, he carries tramadol, an opioid sought for on the black market for its analgesic effects.With a focus on human rights, security, and cross-border trafficking in the Sahel and Maghreb regions, she met Adoum Moussa in 2017, a fellow freelance journalist and researcher.
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Morgane Wirtz

Morgane Wirtz, a freelance journalist and filmmaker from Belgium, is an ardent storyteller. With a focus on human rights, security, and cross-border trafficking in the Sahel and Maghreb regions, she met Adoum Moussa in 2017, a fellow freelance journalist and researcher.

They work together on issues of human rights violations, security and cross-border trafficking in Sahel and in the Maghreb. Straight away a story of friendship was born. They worked together on the documentary Teghadez Agadez. This film, directed by Morgane, presents the point of view of smugglers and migrants on migration. Adoum sometimes takes his place behind the camera and helps Morgane to access the places where the migrants live. This first feature film won the special mentions in the international documentary section at Vues d'Afrique festival, in Montreal, and the award for best feature documentary at the Nova Frontier Film Festival, in New York. Meanwhile, Morgane and Adoum work together for ARD, a German news channel for which they direct several reports. They then embark on a new project: Tramadol, shot in Niger and edited in Tunisia, where Morgane now lives. In this short film, the two directors follow a smuggler across Niger. On board his motorbike, he carries tramadol, an opioid sought for on the black market for its analgesic effects.

Since 2019, Morgane has been based in Tunis, following almost two years in Agadez. Concurrently, she pursues a doctorate at Tilburg University, researching human trafficking intricacies in Libya.

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