Adama Bineta SOW, Sénégal, 2024
SYNOPSIS
Khalilou, a young student who, after his mother contracts cancer linked to depigmentation, decides to denounce dangerous beauty standards. To do this, he disguises himself as Leila and participates in the “Miss Students” competition, dominated by light skin, in order to allow dark-skinned young women to shine. This film addresses themes of self-esteem, identity and the fight against prejudice with humor and emotion.
FILMOGRAPHY
In 2015, Adama Bineta Sow directed her first short film “Aveuglé par un aveugle” (official selection in the Espace Junior section at FESPACO 2017).In 2017, she took part in a three-month screenwriting workshop organized by Cinekap Group and the European Union’s network of national cultural institutes in Dakar, with filmmakers including Moussa Touré, Aduaka Newton, Vincent Smith, Neus Ballus, Marna Keïta, Michel Alexandre, Ramatoulaye Sy.
In 2019, she released her second short film “A nous laTabaski, which won the prize for best short film at the 2019 Fontenay-le-Fleury Women’s Film Festival in Paris, the jury’s special mention at the Nouakshort Film Festival (Mauritania), and was also selected in official competition at several other international festivals (Festival Lumières d’Afrique in Besançon, Un Point c’est Court, Elles Tournent in Brussels, African Women Arts Film Festival in Tanzania, The Lift-Off Sessions in England…). She receives a diploma of recognition from the French Ministry of Culture. The same year, she took part in a two-week writing residency in Ouagadougou as part of the Rencontres Cinématographiques de Ouagadougou (RECIO), organized by Issiaka Compaoré and led by Marna Keïta.