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Original Film Title: Inspired by Brink
Director’s Name: Ze Helios
Writer’s Name: Ze Helios, Leedia M
Producer: Zeus Helios
Country of Origin: Canada
Country of Filming: Canada
Language: English
Runtime: 31 minutes 36 seconds
Film Description:
When the excavator arrives and tears down his recording studio in Zurich, Swiss hit producer Dodo decides to pack his equipment into a shipping container and explore the world.
Four years later, the musician chugs down the Rhine from Basel to Rotterdam on a container ship, reaching South Africa, Ghana, and finally the Ivory Coast. On the journey, he seeks to unearth new music, pen hit songs, and revisit the memories etched in the lanes of Yopougon, where he spent his early childhood. Memories of pineapple feasts on Vridi beach, a mango tree standing tall in a garden called home and an abrupt return to Switzerland because of a dying father.
Dodo’s imagined journey «back to the roots» turns out differently than planned. Dreams implode, memories collide with the realities of the present, the container gets lost at sea, and the project threatens to shatter due to disagreements. Big J, Dodo’s companion and co-producer, asks himself more than once: what the heck are we doing here – and why?
«Youpougon – Way Back Home» is a sonic road trip full of dreams, determination and a multitude of dilemmas. It’s about longing, friendship, sustainable cross-cultural co-operation and the recurring realization that home is a feeling rather than a geographical place. Finally, it is a tale about the beauty and creative power of South and West Africa expressed through the language of music.