''Waiting for Happiness'' (original title: ''Heremakono''; ) is a 2002

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

n drama film written and directed by

Abderrahmane Sissako Abderrahmane Sissako (born 13 October 1961) is a Mauritanian-born Malian film director and producer. His film '' Waiting for Happiness'' (''Heremakono'') was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival official selection under Un Certain Regard, ...

. Main characters are a student, who has returned to his home in

Nouadhibou Nouadhibou (; ar, نواذيبو, Nwādībū, Berber: Nwadibu, formerly in French: ) is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 118,000 inhabitants expanding to over 140,000 in the ...

, an electrician and his child apprentice, and the local women. The film is characterized by a succession of scenes of the daily life of the characters which are unique to their particular African and Arab cultures, while borrowing from

trope Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...

s of Tayeb Saleh's

Season of Migration to the North ''Season of Migration to the North'' ( ar, موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال ) is a classic postcolonial Arabic novel by the Sudanese novelist Tayeb Salih, published in 1966; it is the novel for which he is best known. It was first publi ...

( موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال). The viewer must interpret the scenes without much help from narrator or plot, while the structure of the film hangs on a series of mundane but visually arresting moments, many of which are repeated in other works in

's opus, including scenes at a barber shop and a photo booth, also present in his earlier ''

La Vie Sur Terre ''La Vie Sur Terre'' (''Life on Earth'') is a 1998 Malian comedy/drama film written and directed by, and starring Abderrahmane Sissako. It is set in the village of Sokolo and depicts rural life on the eve of the 21st century. Runtime is 61 minutes ...

'' and later ''Timbuktu''. The film presents typical Mauritanian moments of beauty, struggle, alienation, and humor, which are experienced by groups socially divided from each other, such as Bidhan women drinking tea and gossiping,

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Ma ...

migrants passing through Mauritania to get to Europe (and finding an unsuccessful comrade washed ashore). The young protagonist who has returned interacts with all of these groups as an outsider, as he struggles to remember even his own Hassaniya Arabic dialect, but prefers instead

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. Many of the themes and characters presage Sissako's 2014 film

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

, and both explore liminal Sahel identities authentically situated in everyday life. Waiting for Happiness

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

d at the

2002 Cannes Film Festival The 55th Cannes Film Festival started on 15 May and ran until 26 May 2002. The Palme d'Or went to the Polish-French-German-British co-produced film '' The Pianist'' directed by Roman Polanski. The festival opened with ''Hollywood Ending'', directe ...

in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section.

Cast

* Khatra Ould Abder Kader as Khatra * Maata Ould Mohamed Abeid as Maata *

Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam. Muhammad and variations may also refer to: *Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations ...

as Abdallah * Nana Diakité as Nana * Fatimetou Mint Ahmeda as Soukeyna, the mother * Makanfing Dabo as Makan * Santha Leng as Tchu

References

External links

* * 2002 films 2002 drama films French drama films 2000s French-language films 2000s Mandarin-language films Mauritanian drama films Films directed by Abderrahmane Sissako 2000s French films {{FESPACO Étalon de Yennenga, state=expanded