France, Guinea and Senegal / 2003 / 95mins / Crime, Drama / French

Alfa is a mixed-race drug dealer living in Paris. He brutally murders a local crime lord and then beats his henchman with a baseball bat. His older brother, a mysterious and distant figure, tells him cryptically to ‘go towards the river.’ Alfa is forced to flee and reluctantly returns to his homeland, the place of his father's death, Guinea. On the way, he visits his mother, and runs into his beautiful young cousin, Marie, who is immediately drawn to him. Disgusted with all things African, he sullenly spurns her advances. Eager to get to know Alfa, Marie steals her father's truck and offers him a ride to his destination in Guinea. As they have their road adventure and draw closer, we see in flashback the gruesome events that drove Alfa to commit murder. Alfa and Marie contend with thugs, thieves, and corrupt officials on their journey, and soon learn that the thug Alfa beat up before he fled Paris is still alive, and is hunting him down.

Mama Keïta

Mama Keïta was born in Dakar, Senegal, to a Vietnamese mother and a Guinean father. He studied law at the University of Paris I. He has directed and produced a documentary and several long feature films, including 2009’s award-winning film The Absence / L'Absence. He also has to his credit numerous screenplays. In 1998, David Achkar who was about to shoot Le Fleuve, died of leukemia. Before his passing, he asked Mama Keïta to promise to make the film for him. Le Fleuve, produced in 2002, received the Prix de la Presse at the Paris Film Festival in 2003. He directed Le Sourire du Serpent, produced in 2006, which was in competition at FESPACO in 2007. His short film One More Vote for Obama is part of the collective film Africa Seen by..., which was produced and presented at the second Panafrican Festival of Algiers (Panaf '2009, Algeria) which brings together ten short films made by African directors. Learn More