Paris-based company The Party Film Sales has released the first trailer for Alain Gomis’ “DAO,” ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. The film marks Gomis’ return to the Berlinale after winning the Silver Bear for his previous film, Felicity.
DAO, Gomis’s sixth feature film, is a France-Senegal-Guinea-Bissau co-production, co-produced with leading French companies Les Films du Warsot and SRAB Films (Les Misérables), Senegalese co-production companies Yenenga Productions and Nafi Films, and Guinea-Bissau’s Telecine Bissau Productions.
Described in the press notes as an “eternal circular movement that edges reality,” DAO unfolds between two ceremonies: a wedding in France and a commemorative ceremony in Guinea-Bissau. The film, written and directed by Gomis, is directed by newcomers Katie Correa and Johe Quadio. True to Gomis’ method, little of the dialogue was pre-scripted, and scenes took shape in the present tense on location between France and villages in Guinea-Bissau.
Blending non-professionals with seasoned actors, the ensemble also includes Samir Guesmi, Mike Etienne, Nicolas Gomis, Farah Bako Gomis and Pound Gomis.
As with Gomis’ other films, music plays a large role in DAO, boasting traditional ritual sounds and jazz by saxophonists Keita Janota and Gaspar Gomis.
Gomis previously participated in the Berlinale with “Tey” (“Aujourd’hui”) and “Rewind & Play”. She made her debut in the film “L’Afrance,” which won the Locarno Prize.
