Elena has two fathers, both of whom are deceased. Her biological father belonged to a powerful pagan brotherhood, and because of it, was never allowed to meet his daughter. The father figure she grew up with was a French expatriate.

As Elena inches toward adolescence, she finds herself desperately wanting to be closer to a culture that is not her own. She idolizes the women in her Harlequin novels and dreams of one day finding her very own European lover.

From the depths of a world she doesn't yet know, her father senses she is growing further away from him and attempts to communicate with her. But Elena doesn't yet know how to listen...

When Elena's mother promises to send her abroad to continue her studies if she passes her exam, she is ecstatic and applies herself. But one of her classmates, Clemence, has other priorities. The two girls start off as enemies, one busy defending the principles they are expected to uphold in school, the other defending her right to be the class clown.

One day Elena gets the chance to meet a prince charming similar to the one she has read about in her Harlequin novels. When the experience leaves her feeling rejected and scarred, Clemence seems to be the only one able to provide solace.

Her blossoming friendship with Clemence allows her to unleash the free spirit she has been keeping locked up for so long. It gives Elena the courage to listen to a mysterious supernatural force in her environment; one which allows her to finally connect with a father and a world she has never known...

Burkina Faso · Color · 96'

Director''s note
Away tells the story of a young girl who embodies a young Africa. Elena represents a youth that is constantly reminded, and thus convinced, of the inferiority of its own traditions.

When it is considered unacceptable to publicly state that one is an animist in societies where people still very much adhere to animist traditions, it is a reminder of the inferiority associated with this paradigm. When we see political leaders dressed in three-piece suits, it is a reminder of the inadequateness of our dress. When we see women bleach their skin and relax their hair beyond recognition, it is a reminder that what we are is insufficient. When we see people who don't adhere to these norms of civility publicly humiliated and scorned, it reinforces the idea that to assert any sort of pride in who we are is uncivilized, backward and threatening. It reinforces the idea that what we are is not enough; that we need to be reshaped, refined and repackaged.

Not many people have had the courage to confront the good and the bad in our traditions and allow those traditions to evolve on their own terms. What we have seen is people run away from this responsibility because it is easy for them to do so under the guise of pursuing a more developed ‘modern' life. Elena's journey is thus to confront her traditions and allow them to lead her to her own unique evolution.

Away is a story of unabashed self-discovery. It is a culmination of personal and fictional experiences, anchored in a time when girls can still be girls and dare to do and say things they won't be able to for much longer.

a film by Leslie TÔ

Burkina Faso/USA, feature film, 1hr36

Year of the film project: 2012
Titre: AWAY
French Title: AILLEURS
Countries: Burkina Faso, USA
Type: Feature film
Duration: 96 mins (1h36)
Genre: Drama
Budget: 450'757 Euro

DIRECTOR
Leslie Tô

SCREENWRITER
Leslie Tô (Based on Original Idea)

PRODUCTION
Je t'aime pictures
01 b.p. 6270
01 Ouagadougou 01
je.taime.pics@gmail.com


Company''s Profile
Je t'aime Pictures is a new production company based in Burkina Faso. It was created to produce and distribute original African content. It is currently developing a television pilot called Taper Les Divers, a mosaic of comedy sketches that interpret the quintessential aspects of life in Ouagadougou. Away will be its first feature film.


FESTIVALS

2012 | 65th Locarno Film Festival (Locarno, Switzerland) | 01-11|8|2012
* Selection - Project : Open Doors - Focus on Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa (4-7|8|2012)
Scheduled Shooting place: Ouagadougou
Scheduled Shooting start date: 06/2013
Production status [July 2012]: Writing / Development
Budget: 450'757 Euro (Financing in place: 10'000 Euro)
https://eave.org/eave_documents/OpenDoors2.pdf
www.pardolive.ch/en/Industry/Open-Doors/film.html?fid=599906&sl=en
www.locarnofestival.ch/LFF/program/archive/film.html?fid=599906&l=en&eid=65

__________________

IT
Burkina Faso · Colore · 96'

Regia: Leslie Tô

Produzione
Je t'aime pictures
01 b.p. 6270
01 Ouagadougou 01
je.taime.pics@gmail.com