We, Students!
Why must you see it?
In a context rarely represented in cinema, the Central African Republic, this debut feature is at once a work of persistence, friendship and faith in the possibility that the documentary form can bring about spaces for reflection and change. Focusing on a small group of university students – Fariala’s three friends – and set against the backdrop of a corrupt and unjust university system, this film constructs a portrait of the present and a challenge to the collective construction of the future. From small everyday gestures to discussions of profound political lucidity, these young people seek to imagine ways of inventing a country.
Cíntia Gil
MajorDocs programmer
Rafiki Fariala
Born on 1997 of Congolese parents, Rafiki Fariala arrived early in the Central African Republic, where his parents took refuge because of the war. He studied at the seminary Enfant Jésus des Pères Carmes Déchaux, where he directs the choir and develops his voice. Entirely self- taught, he starts composing music and becomes one of the promising figures of Bangui’s musical scene. In 2017, he is selected among 150 candidates to take part in the documentary workshop organised in Bangui by Ateliers Varan. At the end of the workshop, he directs his first film, Mbi na Mo (You and Me). The film is selected at the Lausanne, Montréal, St Denis and Lille festivals, and at the Biarritz FIPADOC.
Year: 2022
Country: Central African Republic, France, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia
Length: 82 min
Language: Sango, French
Subtitles: Spanish, English
Director: Rafiki Fariala
Producer: Boris Lojkine, Daniele Incalcaterra, Elvis Sabin Ngaïbino
Cinematographer: Rafiki Fariala
Editor: Xavier Sirven, Christian Moïse Nzengue
Sound: Anne-Bertille Ndeysseit Vopiande
