France 1996, 35mm, Color, 97 min. U.S. Premiere
Director: Eric Heumann Pierre Feldman (Jean-Yves Dubois), a Parisian surgeon, arrives at Port Djema, a dusty remnant of the former French colony in East Africa. He knows practically nothing about the country and the ongoing civil war between Assad nomads and those in power. He has come to fulfill a promise made to Antoine Barasse (Frederic Pierrot)-a colleague recently assassinated in Port Djema-although the exact nature of his quest remains mysterious until the very end. Antoine had broken ranks with the humanitarian agency that sent him to Port Djema and opened a clinic for rebel soldiers in the country's forbidden territory. Despite the warnings of the French embassy, Pierre makes his way to the forbidden territory where he witnesses first-hand the consequences of the French government's duplicity. (The government is, in fact, supporting both sides in the war, despite its officially " neutral " position.) Beautifully crafted and stunningly photographed, Eric Heumann's debut feature is an existential thriller that potently captures the eeriness of being a complete stranger in a hostile country, while exposing the legacy of French colonialism. |