We, Students! by Rafiki Fariala will have its World Premiere at the Berlinale 2022 in the Panorama Section. This is the first feature from the Central African Republic to have ever been selected at the Berlinale.
We, Students!, a documentary about the youth in the Central African Republic
In Fariala’s autobiographical first feature documentary, we’re witnessing what it is like to be a student in the Central African Republic, a shattered country: attending lectures in overcrowded classrooms and studying for exams under street lights dreaming for a brighter future, the petty trades that allow students to survive.
Rafiki turns his camera to himself and his friends, allowing us to witness their journey firsthand by following their thoughts and doubts.
Rafiki Fariala, a Rising Director of the Central African Republic
We, Students! is Rafiki Fariala’s first feature. In 2017, he was selected among 150 candidates to take part in the documentary workshop organised in Bangui by the Ateliers Varan. At the end of the workshop, he directed his first documentary short film in 2017 « Mbi na Mo (You and Me) » about the story of two young people who are expecting a baby and are fighting to survive. The documentary was selected at Lausanne, Montreal, St Denis, Lille Festivals and at the Biarritz FIPADOC.
Our EFM line up and new announcements
Our full EFM line up can be found at this link. It includes three new titles, just announced in Screen Daily.
The Last Queen by Damien Ounouri is a bold and impressive author-driven Algerian period drama inspired by the legendary 16th Century figure of the last King of Algiers’s wife Zaphira (Adila Bendimerad) and her struggle to defend her people from the infamous pirate Barbarossa played by Dali Benssalah (No Time to Die, My Brother and I)
Morrison, Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s new drama is an ambitious film combining a strong visual experience and a deep political reflection. Aroonpheng previously directed Manta Ray which won many awards on the festival circuit including the Venice Horizons award in 2018.
Upcoming titles also include The Lost Souls of Syria directed by Stéphane Malterre and written by Garance le Caisne, a documentary about the investigations that were sparked after an archive of 27,000 photos of anonymous corpses from the Syrian’s government’s secret archives, which were made public in 2014 by a mysterious whistleblower called Caesar.