The Gambia Blog

Lawrence from Makasutu and engineer in chief of the Wide Open Walls project (more of which shortly!) has posted this trailer for a new film Mirror Boy on the Gambia facebook page. No word as to whether this is going to get a general release as yet, but it looks like a fascinating project and those brief glimpses of the Gambia are spine-tingling. If anyone has any more details on the film, then do please get in touch!

The plot synopsis is as follows:

Mirror Boy is an enthralling journey through Gambia, seen through the eyes of London-born 12 year old Tijan (Edward Kagutuzi). Getting involved in a street fight, in which a boy is hurt, his mother (Genevieve Nnaji) decides to take him to the Gambia to live with her sister. On their arrival in Banjul, Tijan encounters an apparition of a boy smiling at him in a mirror and vanishing. Seeing the same boy in a crowded street market the next day sets in motion a chain of events that culminates in him getting lost. While Tijan’s panic-stricken mother struggles to find her son in an intriguing game of survival brinkmanship, Tijan is left alone in the company of the enigmatic Mirror Boy, who is only visible to him. A bruising spiritual rite of passage, Mirror Boy takes Tijan on a magical and mystical journey.

Faces of The Gambia

We’ve had our attention drawn to this wonderful video available now over at the Journeyman site. Journeyman are a Canadian company and their task was to create a ‘non-stereotypical, empowering story about Africa that will talk to Canadians’ – essentially a non-cliched look at The Gambia in all its glorious diversity.

Looking at the footage and reading the account of the making of the film it seems as though the film makers had a very enriching trip and by moving beyond the traditional tourist areas they were able to capture the country as it is, as opposed to how it might be presented by a more commercial-minded venture. As Oren puts it on the Journeyman blog: ‘It’s been a real eye opener to be exposed to this cross-section of Gambian culture. To listen to these peoples’ stories has truly been an honour.’ It’s a great film and well worth your time.

The Faces of The Gambia