Dao - Alain Gomis

Dao is a perpetual circular movement that frames reality. A family weaves the threads of a heritage that travels between worlds, intertwining joy and pain, memory and transmission. A wedding in France and a commemorative ceremony in Guinea-Bissau unfold as two celebrations organically connected through bodies and time, leading towards rebirth.

Alain Gomis (b. 1972) is a French-Senegalese screenwriter and film director. His debut feature, L’Afrance (2001), which portrays the struggles of a Senegalese student in France, won the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. After Andalucia (2007), he collaborated with Saul Williams on Tey (Aujourd’hui), which earned him the Golden Stallion at FESPACO. In 2017, he directed Félicité, awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale and selected as Senegal’s submission for the Academy Awards. With Rewind & Play (2022), he paid tribute to the legendary jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. Dao is his sixth feature film. Gomis is also deeply committed to the development of film production and post-production in West Africa. In 2018, he founded the Yennenga Centre in Dakar, a hub dedicated to supporting African cinema.