I, Captain: a modern journey by Matteo Garrone (trailer)

“I, Captain was born from the weaving of several stories of young people who experienced the crossing from Africa to Europe…”

Two 16-year-old Senegalese people, Seydou and Moussa, decide to leave their country to join Europe in the hope of finding a better future there. The dangers of this journey quickly emerge as a real threat. The best way to overcome borders is through mutual assistance.

In the press kit of Me, captaindirector Matteo Garrone (Dogman, Gomorrah) looked at the creation and transmission of a current story faced by adolescents.

“I, Captain was born from the weaving of several stories of young people who experienced the crossing from Africa to Europe. Listening to them, I realized that their stories undoubtedly constituted the only possible contemporary epic tale. I wanted my camera to film in the radically opposite direction to those of the media. Embracing the perspective and point of view of these people to narrate this epic journey of life and death. says the filmmaker.

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Me, captain is the result of an alloy of several stories of young people who have experienced this migration, from Africa to Europe.

“To be able to tell the story of this adventure full of dangers from the inside, it was necessary for me to immerse myself in their world, so far from mine”said Matteo Garrone.

The filmmaker then spoke with these young people, unfortunately familiar with the stages of fleeing towards a so-called better world.

“Today, the film allows me to tell about my suffering but also that of other people who died in the Libyan desert and while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. It is also and above all a way to touch international consciousness and generate, perhaps, a form of change.“, confides Mamadou Kouassi, consultant for the scenario.

Me, captain won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival 2023as well as the Marcello Mastroianni Prize best hope for Seydou Sarrthe main role, who takes on the features of the captain of the boat who should lead his comrades to the Promised Land.

Me, Captain will be released in theaters on January 3, 2024.

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