Waiting for Happiness ( Heremakono ) ( En attendant le bonheur )

Waiting for Happiness (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Heremakono
Alternate Title: En attendant le bonheur
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Cannes Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
Dutch ( Subtitles )
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
French ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Netherlands ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
96 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Documentary
Interactive Menu

Movie filmed in 2002 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Mauritania ( Africa, Middle East )

Directed By:
Abderrahmane Sissako

Written By:
Abderrahmane Sissako

Actors:
Khatra Ould Abder Kader ..... Khatra
Maata Ould Mohamed Abeid ..... Maata
Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed ..... Abdallah
Nana Diakité ..... Nana
Fatimetou Mint Ahmeda ..... Soukeyna, the mother
Makanfing Dabo ..... Makan
Santha Leng ..... Tchu

Synopsis:

Waiting for Happiness depicts life in the seaside town of Nouadhibou in Mauritania. A young man, Abdallah (Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed), visits the town, where his mother lives, before emigrating. He feels disconnected from his people because he dresses in Western clothes, and he does not speak the language, but he connects in small ways during his stay. A taciturn elderly electrician, Maata (Maata Ould Mohamed Abeid), teaches an energetic boy, Khatra (Khatra Ould Abdel Kader), his trade, while a traditional singer (Nema Mint Choueikh) teaches a talented young girl hers. One would-be émigré washes up on the beach amid massive ships long ago run aground. Abdallah's mother vainly urges him to follow traditional customs while he's in town. Nana (Nana Diakite) tells Abdallah a sad tale about tracking down the father of her lost child in Europe. The film jumps forward in time at several points, and eventually both Khatra and Abdallah try to leave the village. Filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako's follow-up to his acclaimed Life on Earth, Waiting for Happiness won the FIPRESCI Award for Uncertain Regard at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival "for its exquisite poetic depiction of the emotional and humorous complications that can arise in the midst of a simple life."

Director Abderrahmane Sissako's "Waiting for Happiness" suggests a world of poignant contradictions, between immobility and departure, belonging and rootlessness, tradition and modernity, local culture and outside influence. Like Sissako's much-admired 1998 feature "Life on Earth," significant festival attention will follow.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 28 June, 2007.

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