Moussa Sagna

In the utmost secrecy, the first African space mission is preparing to take off! The crew, from Africa and its diaspora, is set to explore the planet "NARDAL", assessing its potential as a refuge for all Africans should Earth ever become uninhabitable. The problem is that the journey will be long. Very long. And in interstellar missions, the greatest unknown is whether the astronauts will be able to get along.

Events in an idyllic African village are shown in detail in the period just before logging trucks come in and cut down the forest around the villagers, forcing them to move into the wretched shantytowns that surround major cities throughout the undeveloped world. Despite the familiar premise, this surprisingly unsentimental film by Georgian director Otar Ioselliani has several things going for it, beginning with the cinematography and including the natural and unaffected (non-professional) performances of the villagers.