SILVER

[NI CHAÎNES NI MAÎTRES]
In 1759, the island of Mauritius is under French colonial rule. The enslaved people working in the sugar cane plantations live in constant fear. Among them, 16-year-old Mati (Anna Diakhere Thiandoum) refuses to accept her fate. Unlike her father, Massamba (Ibrahima Mbaye, ATLANTICS, WÙLU), who has grown disillusioned by years of oppression, Mati dreams of freedom and a life beyond the plantation. One night, desperate to flee the violence of her captors, Mati finds refuge in a remote part of the island rumored to be home to a community of runaway slaves. Her escape triggers a ruthless pursuit. The plantation owner (Benoît Magimel, THE TASTE OF THINGS) hires the merciless slave owner Madame La Victoire (Camille Cottin, CALL MY AGENT!) and her sons to track Mati down. Realizing the brutal consequences awaiting his daughter if she gets captured, Massamba has no choice but to break free from his chains and embark on a perilous journey through the island’s dense jungle to find her. The father and daughter’s journey becomes a desperate fight for survival and a final, irreversible break from the colonial system that has defined their lives. (Note courtesy of Distrib Films.) Official Selection, 2025 FESPACO Film Festival. DIR/SCR Simon Moutaïrou; SCR Hassam Ghancy; PROD Nicolas Dumont, Hugo Sélignac. France, 2024, color, 98 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED