Sidi Kaba and the Gateway Home

In a village on the west coast of Africa, the young Sidi Kaba lives peacefully with his family, protected from the men of the sea. Tonight, the whole village is celebrating. The young initiates have chosen their animal spirits. Sidi admires his older brother Azou, whose shadow of a panther is visible on the ancestral rock. He too dreams of finding his spirit animal. In fact, he is planning with his friends Abdou and the twins on going on a trip to the forbidden forest early the next morning. But the men of the sea led by Captain Sacabas exploit his innocence to follow him and ransack his village. Sidi watches his brother entering the Door of No Return, forcibly embarked on board of Sacabas’ ship. Sidi soars into the Ocean, but a tidal wave takes him. Mamy Wata the Goddess comes to his rescue and offers to help him find his brother. In return, Sidi has to rehabilitate her to his people. Sheltered in the belly of a whale, here is Sidi Kaba, starting this incredible adventure!

Director’s statement
For three centuries, fourteen million people were taken away from their homeland and transported in ship’s holds, like animals. Africa was bled of its people to provide the manpower to feed the great Western civilizations. Their sacrifice has shaped the world in which we live today. Sidi Kaba and the Gateway Home is my way of honouring our common ancestors regardless of our physical, social or moral differences. I instantly fell in love with the story Jerome Piot had written; its origins and intentions felt so genuine. I agreed to support him in the realization of this magnificent project because it also offered me the opportunity to reconnect with my ancestry. Sidi Kaba is a positive and unifying film. Its ambition is to plunge children into an epic adventure set against the backdrop of the slave trade.