27.12.2013 St. Louis Senegal

St. Louis, northern lagoon city on the Delta of the Senegal River, is considered the oldest French establishment on the African continent and was the colonial capital for quite some time until Dakar became the capital of an independent Senegal.
In the film, two movements that recharge one another are superimposed through double exposure: a pan in slow motion across a huge square, which looks like an improvised soccer field, bordered by buildings and a few stone steps; and portraits panned from person to person of one old man and several young men gazing into the camera. The camera´s brief pause on their faces makes them transparent for a longer temporality, for the expansive square and its silent space. In the superimposition of the movements, an imminent, proud collectivity also shines through, which the film distances itself from only slightly. Relations are kept in suspense, something ghostly is evoked. In the end, the camera moves further toward the glowing light of the sun; visible are a few shadowy palm trees, buildings, and people.

(Madeleine Bernstorff)

Translation: Lisa Rosenblatt