Simon Njami

How did a poor little black girl from Missouri become the Queen of Paris, before joining the French Resistance and finally creating her dream family “The Rainbow Tribe”, adopting twelve children from four corners of the world? This is the fabulous story of the first black superstar, Josephine Baker.

Forest dwellers pound drums upholding rituals while urbanites cry "Progress!" More plunder the land's riches but newly defiant ones shout back.

"We Were Here" unveils the untold history of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe through iconic artworks. This multilingual film, shot across Europe, challenges the notion that all Blacks were slaves or servants. It reveals a diverse presence, including princes, ambassadors, merchants, and religious figures. Narrated from an Afro-European perspective, it explores stories absent from traditional history books. The film interweaves art history with social narratives, offering a fresh lens on European Renaissance and the complex tapestry of Black presence often overlooked in conventional historical accounts.

Escaping from her daughter, who has eyes only for her inheritance and accuses her of dilapidating the family fortune, Ariane, the richest woman in France but already an old woman, thwarts security to escape from the prison of her mansion where her family has locked her up because she dared to shower a gigolo with gifts. With her African chauffeur Aristide at the wheel of the Bentley, they wander around Paris with no real destination. For the first time, Ariane becomes interested in the origins and the personality of this black man, until now « invisible », who has been driving her for ten years. It's in this way that Africa will impose itself on her through Aristide's stories, African food and palm wine. An adventure into the unreal, where Africa becomes the way out and the lifeline from the family impasse in which she finds herself. If money can’t make you happy, try Africa.

Escaping from her daughter, who has eyes only for her inheritance and accuses her of dilapidating the family fortune, Ariane, the richest woman in France but already an old woman, thwarts security to escape from the prison of her mansion where her family has locked her up because she dared to shower a gigolo with gifts. With her African chauffeur Aristide at the wheel of the Bentley, they wander around Paris with no real destination. For the first time, Ariane becomes interested in the origins and the personality of this black man, until now « invisible », who has been driving her for ten years. It's in this way that Africa will impose itself on her through Aristide's stories, African food and palm wine. An adventure into the unreal, where Africa becomes the way out and the lifeline from the family impasse in which she finds herself. If money can’t make you happy, try Africa.