A small group of people meet in a guesthouse lost in the middle of nowhere. We discover, through a book, everyday life of a slave who became courtesan and who had to sell her body - as many other black women - in order to escape the slavery in the sugarcane fields.

A film by Christian LARA

Guadeloupe / Ivory Coast, 2016, Fiction, 1hr40, Historical Drama

starring Anastasia Varda, Mi Kwan Lock, Sidiki Bakaba, Xavier Letourneur

Original Title: ESCLAVE ET COURTISANE
Genre: Drama | History
Color: Black & White, and Color
Release: 2018-10-09
Release in USA : 2016-02-11 February (Los Angeles)
Length: 100 minutes
Key-words: slavery, Women, democracy, rembembrance, prostitution, resilience, Diaspora, Africa, respect

Producers: Gnama Baddy-Dega, Christian Lara

Directed by Christian Lara
ScreenWriter: Christian Lara
Cinematography: Joaquim de Leon Y Fernandez
Art Direction: Dominic Allen
Special makeup effects artist: Ludovic Dupuis
Art director supervisor: Christine Allen
Visual effects supervisor: Xavier Corbeau
Assistant camera: Mourouvin Samuel
Lighting technician: Joumier William

CAST
Sidiki Bakaba: Nkwamé Nuria, the Boutswana's President
Mi Kwan Lock... Lily
Anastasia Varda... Léa
Xavier Letourneur... Marcel
Jake J. Meniani... The Lover (as Jacopo Menicagli)
Eebra Tooré... The lawyer
Emilie Rochefort... La journaliste
Lydia Canguio... The Escort-girl
Ray Reboul... The TV Reporter
Nina Melo... Fatou
Néné Lou... Zé
Lauraine Koffi... The big sister
Aymeric Hammad... The Jewish client
Aurélie Motte... A courtesan (Une courtisane)
Colette Gaime... A courtesan
Aurélie Misse... A courtesan
Jahmina Vindex... A courtesan
Amadeus Nunes Lopes... A Noble (credited as Amadeu Nunes)
Serge Angeles... A noble
Jean-Claude Maillet... A noble
Joaquim Régent... A noble
Thierry Valsot... A noble
Vincent Gouitaa... Captured man
Yann Bahjat... Captured man
Darel Rolanga... Captured man
François-Xavier Rosira... Captured man
Xavier Corbeau... Captured man
Karim Liazid... TV consultant (uncredited actor)

Filming Locations:
Burgundy, France
Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast)

Production Companies:
* CARAIBE FILMS COMPAGNIE - www.carai­be­films.com
* Skyprod

Co-pro­duc­tion:
ONAC.CI (Ivory Coast National Film Bureau - Office National du Cinéma de Côte d'Ivoire)

FESTIVALS / SCREENINGS

2018 | Dakar International Film Festival - RECIDAK, Senegal
* Screening: Saturday 24 November, at 4PM30, Complexe Sembène Ousmane - Magic Land, salle Djibril Diop Mambéty, Q&A by Thierno Dia, with filmmaker Christian LARA in attendance.

2018 | Semaine du film de la Caraïbe et des Outre-mer | 08-14 Oct 2018 | PARIS, France
* Avant Première - En l'honneur du 170ème anniversaire de l'abolition de l'esclavage.
* Projection : lundi 8 octobre, à 20h30, au Cinéma 7 Parnassiens,, Q&A by Luc Saint-Eloy and actor Sidiki Bakaba, with filmmaker Christian LARA in attendance.
www.parnassiens.com/film/esclave-et-courtisane/

2017 | Fespaco, Burkina Faso
* Panorama (Official Selection)

2016 | Pan African Film Festival, PAFF, Los Angeles, USA
* Screening: 11 February 2016