Start the adventure of the caravan of Cinemovel in the heart of Senegal with "I Captain" by Matteo Garrone

From 15 to 27 April, the travelling cinema caravan will bring Matteo Garrone’s film "I Capitano" to the cities, suburbs, villages and schools of Senegal. A journey through stories of migration and hope, projected in those places where the stories themselves were born. Together with Cinemovel, director Matteo Garrone, actors Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Amath Diallo and cultural mediator Mamadou Kouassi.

The magic of cinema prepares to enchant Senegal with an epic cinematic adventure. Cinemovel, the renowned travelling cinema, is set to take to Senegal’s streets to bring the spirit of cinema to the country’s most remote and vibrant communities. With the support of organizations and institutions, Cinemovel is preparing to project "I Captain" by Matteo Garrone, candidate for 15 David di Donatello, a work that tells stories of departure, dreams and encounters that change lives.

Before moving to the suburbs and regions, on 14 April, there will be a preview in the beating heart of Dakar: the district of Medina. Organized by the Italian Embassy and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Dakar, the event is hosted by the Maison de la Culture Douta Seck, and open to all residents of Medina, where filming began.

The itinerant cinema tour starts on 15 April in the district of Pikine, the screen will be mounted at the cultural center dedicated to the figure of President Léopold Sédar Senghor and ends on 27 April in Casamance in Ziguinchor, hometown of Master Ousmane Sembene. In between the stages are Dakar- Guédiawaye, Dakar- Rufisque, Thiès, Mboro, Mérina Dakhar, Kolda, Sédhiou.

At the heart of this extraordinary initiative is the desire to use cinema as a means of meeting, discussion and cultural change. Through projections in cities, suburbs, villages and schools, Cinemovel aims to inspire audiences to reflect on the world around them and imagine new possibilities for the future.

The experience will be unique because in addition to the participation of the actors of the film I Captain as Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Amath Diallo, there will also be the cultural mediator Mamadou Kouassi, whose story inspired the film. Amara Cisse will also be with the crew, she started collaborating with Cinemovel during the Mboro Film Festival back in 2010. One of the many people who, thanks to cinema, had the chance to imagine a different future.

Cinemovel’s journey was inspired by the words of Maestro Ettore Scola, honorary president of the Cinemovel Foundation, who highlights the power of small gestures to transform people’s lives. " Arriving in a remote village, mounting a screen, pulling ropes, starting a projector, are all surprising gestures for the audience, an epiphany, an event that was not there a few minutes before and may even change their lives, even in small part".

To support the project, a fundraising campaign was launched on the platform "Produzioni dal Basso" with the title "I COME TOO". Each valuable contribution will help to realize the dream of bringing film and story magic to communities in Senegal.

Travelling with partners

The project is promoted by Cinemovel Foundation in collaboration with ACRA, Amref Health Africa, Associazione Pro Senegal, IPSIA, Reggio Children Foundation, Munus Foundation, MYmovies. With the institutional support of the Embassy of Italy in Dakar and the Italian Institute of Culture in Dakar and the recognition of the National Film and Image Plan for the school. With the participation of Pathé BC Sénégal, Foundation Community Dynamo and Coop. Alliance 3.0

In the city of Dakar is underway the project Dakar Reve for which Fondazione Reggio Children and IPSIA, together with a broad partnership, work from 2022 to strengthen education on sustainability in schools (from primary to secondary school) and in the wider community. At the gates of Dakar, in the Guediawaye district, IPSIA and the Sunugal Association for the economic and social emancipation of young women operate. The stages of the caravan will involve the vocational training school Sunugal and the women’s cooperative Gis Gis which produces ethical fashion collections. Another stop in the suburbs of the capital where we will show the film at a center that brings together young people from the Rufisque neighborhood, with whom ACRA works in a program for civil participation of the younger generations.

After Dakar, travelling cinema reaches Thiès. We will visit the LANS city high school, in collaboration with IPSIA that for years supports and accompanies the Interclub of Italian Thiès: a group of young people, passionate about the Italian language and culture, who actively participate in the project Terre e Libertà, Experience of international volunteering. From Thiès to the north, the travelling cinema caravan stops in Mboro. For Cinemovel a bit of a return home. From 2010 to 2014, together with the association Aprosem Mboro Senegal, we created Mboro Film Festival - the Community Festival, forming a group of young people, to whom the equipment was left, to continue in the activity. After Mboro we will stop at Merina Dakhar where IPSIA has been working for years to support rural communities, we will mount the screen in the main square of the Municipality.

The next day the caravan will be on its way to the Casamance, the itinerant cinema will reach the communities where Amref Health Africa is present with specific activities for the young generations. In the Sédhiou region, we will meet the girls of the Girls Choice Future project, while in the Kolda region we will discover young women and youth activists on promoting sexual and reproductive health.

Also in Casamance in Ziguinchor with ACRA that promotes in particular the migration and wash programs we will reach the local population with the itinerant cinema.

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