Voyages Across Borders
A Film Festival
University of Florida
January 22-24, 2021
Organized by Dr. Sylvie Blum-Reid, & Dr. Kole Odutola, Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
Film lineup (January 22)
– Lagos Landing (Theo Ukpaa, 2018, Nigeria)
“Cyber Love “ This love story inspired by true events centers around Jacqueline, an uptight middle-class Parisian woman who joins a dating site in search of the perfect novel-like romance and adventure she’s always imagined. She connects with BAYO, a self-made young, rich lawyer in faraway Nigeria who has a seemingly boring life. After a few weeks, she finds herself in Lagos, Nigeria to meet her online lover face to face. The story takes a twist when Jacqueline, upon arriving in Lagos, becomes a victim of mistaken identity. (Romantic Thriller)
– The Lost Café (Kenneth Gyan, 2017, Nigeria & Norway)
When a young woman decides to pursue her dream career and move to Norway to further her studies in filmmaking, she becomes torn between two worlds. Family issues back at home in Nigeria and integration issues in Norway begin to take a toll on her studies. When the problems facing her start to become more than she can handle she stumbles upon a café that provides her with more than just the best coffee. (Drama)
Film lineup (January 23)
– La dérive douce d’un enfant de Petit-Goâve (Pedro Ruiz, 2009, Quebec)
Known for his determination, his strength, his sometimes brutal honesty, Lafferière presents an image of the “first world” from his eyes of a savage but lucid man, thirsty for life and literature, with a voracious appetite for everything that life has to offer. More than a physical journey, the documentary presents a fascinating cinematic journey and plunges us straight into the author’s raging imagination. *This film will be in French with subtitles in Spanish.
– Yang Yang (Cheng Yu Chieh, 2009, Taiwan)
A collegiate athlete turned fashion model, Yang is a mixed-race French-Taiwanese who is all too used to being fetishized, though she doesn’t speak a word of French. Her tenuous sense of self, as one who is often admired or desired but always somehow separate, leads her on a tortuous life’s path where identity, loyalty, and direction are all thrown into question. (Drama) *This selection will accompany Dr. Michelle Bloom’s talk on Yang Yang (Thursday 11 Feb. 4pm)
Film lineup (January 24)
– Prendre le large / Catch the Wind (Gael Morel, 2017, France)
Edith sees her life turned upside down when the factory where she has always worked is relocated to Tangiers. While her first days in the new factory and an unknown country are far from easy, she soon makes friends with Mina, the owner of the guest house where she is staying. Thanks to this friendship, Edith’s life takes a new turn. (Drama)
– Hope (Boris Lojkine, 2014, France)
On his clandestine journey from Cameroon to Europe through the Sahara desert, Léonard meets Hope, a Nigerian girl who’s following the same dream. (Drama)
– Le Chemin (The Path) (Jeanne Labrune 2017, 91 mn, France)
Camille, a young lady who has joined a Catholic mission in Cambodia and is ready to take her vows, cross paths along a river and the Angkor ruin with a Cambodian man on a regular basis. (Drama)
