France, Mali and South Africa / 2021 / 85mins / Documentary / Moré, Bambara and French

The House of Migrants in Gao, Mali, is a refuge at the southern edge of the Sahara desert. It welcomes those in transit towards Algeria in the north, or on their way back after a failed attempt to make it to Europe. When Esther and Kady, two teenage girls from Burkina Faso, arrive to regain the strength to continue their journey, they form a friendship with Natacha, a migrant woman in her forties whose memory has faded over the years, along with her hopes of regaining her home. The trio finds a semblance of family life, sharing moments of joy, hope, and tenderness. But the girls can’t shake the dream of a future abroad, even when their journey collides with the ones who came back, burdened by failure and trauma.

Ousmane Samassékou

Ousmane is a partner with DS Productions in Bamako, Mali. In 2015, he completed his first feature documentary, Les héritiers de la colline, which won the Grand Prix du Jury at the Agadir Festival. In October 2018, he won the Producer Networks grant at the Ouaga Producer Lab for his project, Tonso. His feature documentary, The Last Shelter participated in the IDFA Summer School and the IDFA Academy in 2019. He is also a co-producer of Aïcha Macky's Zinder. Learn More