Bye Bye, Africa

1998. Chad. Screenplay by Mahamat Saleh Haroun. Haroun plays himself in this autobiographical drama in which a film director, born in Chad but now living and working in France, receives a phone call late one night with the news that his mother has died. The director goes home for the first time in a decade to discover that he barely recognizes the impoverished land of his birth. His father has little understanding of or respect for his work, so the director decides to make a film in Chad. However, it's all but impossible to secure financing. The director presses on, auditioning local actors and reuniting with his former girlfriend (Aicha Yelena). In Chadian Arabic, French; English subtitles. 86 min.