Discoveries from Mayotte World Cinema

Recording a 24-hour period throughout every country in the world, we explore a greater diversity of perspectives than ever seen before on screen. We follow characters and events that evolve throughout the day, interspersed with expansive global montages that explore the progression of life from birth, to death, to birth again. In the end, despite unprecedented challenges and tragedies throughout the world, we are reminded that every day we are alive there is hope and a choice to see a better future together. Founded in 2008, it set out to explore our planet's identity and challenges in an attempt to answer the question: Who are we?

In the shadow of Mayotte's rough neighborhoods, Hakim and Izak, two high school students, struggle every day to escape a destiny shaped by violence. While Hakim aspires to join Izak's gang, in search of a chosen family, Izak strives to survive in this unforgiving environment. Their brotherhood is severely challenged when they discover a specialized institution that holds the promise of a better destiny. Between loyalty and the desire for redemption, their journey is marked by heartbreaking choices that will define their destiny and test the strength of their deep friendship. This poignant story explores the complexities of youth on the margins, confronted with the harsh realities of a society in crisis.

Emilia and Ismael were not ready to take on parental responsibilities. However, their baby is there, and it must be assumed. Emil's mother Nazilati strives as best she can to empower her daughter. So will they be able to assume their new role?

Haïdar is a young forty-something from Mayotte, a predominantly Muslim French island, located between East Africa and Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. And Haïdar is not very happy! His Mahorais compatriots voted overwhelmingly for departmentalization in March 2009 and he does not want this departmentalization! He wants to find the Mayotte where life is good and not this island which is inexorably tilting towards the "French" model. He thinks that the Comorian culture, common to the four islands of the archipelago, will inevitably be deconstructed in Mayotte, or even destroyed by the French "assimilationist steamroller". So Haïdar decided to go live in the Comoros, where he can find his "real" life. But Haïdar will go from surprise to surprise because although thousands of Comorians come every year to settle illegally in Mayotte, the reverse suddenly seems much more difficult than he had imagined.