Bye Bye Africa

In Africa it is always difficult to make a film. There is hardly any money, there are practically no facilities and for distribution one is dependent on film-house screenings and festivals outside Africa. That is reason enough to make Bye Bye Africa interesting: it is an African film (even though it was produced in France) about film-making in Africa. Moussa Hassan (played by the maker, Mahamat Saleh Haroun) is a French-resident film-maker who returns to Chad after fifteen years because his mother has died. There he is confronted with the economic crisis that also makes the film industry suffer: the many cinemas from his youth have had to make way for videothèques. Moussa talks to a minor film producer and to an unemployed operator. There is an audition which everyone attends. And he bumps into an old girlfriend who still has an eye for him. With his film, Haroun wanted to reflect on African cinema and also to investigate the boundaries between documentary and fiction. On a small budget, with a small crew, largely non- professional actors and many improvised scenes, Haroun managed to sketch a lively and realistic picture of the way in which his compatriots live and of the motivations and limitations that play a role in their existence. We have to produce (film) to avoid disappearing, according to Haroun. Bye Bye Africa is a significant step in that direction.