The sea Goddesses
Title: The sea Goddesses
Directed by
Country: Guinea
Duration: 52 minutes
SYNOPSIS
M’ma Traoré, Ramatoulaye Sow and Camara M’ma Camara are three women who live in Dubréka, a fishing village 50 km from the capital Conakry, where the local economy relies mostly on fishing.
Hoping for a better life, the three women, also mothers, regularly face the dangers of the sea. Theirs is a difficult job usually done by able-bodied men: artisanal sea fishing.
The women master all the basics of the fishing profession: from preparing the equipment to mending the nets; from navigating high seas to smoking the fish.
The three have had to overcome the disapproval of society and those around them, asserting themselves in a macho fishing environment. Throughout a four-day fishing campaign, they manage to demonstrate their determination and know-how, particularly their ability to challenge and triumph over the elements, which makes them seem protected by the God of the sea.
This documentary immerses us in the world of these three women, whose friendship and solidarity are a model of exemplary strength. We see their homes, their relationships with their husbands and the community, their contribution to family responsibilities, their relationships with the fishermen, their division of tasks once at sea, and finally the freedom they enjoy in this profession, far from the disapproval of society and the weight of family responsibilities.
“In 1989, after a clash near the border between Mauritanian shepherds and Senegalese peasants, an incredible escalation of racist violence took place in the two countries. These events caused thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of refugees. Today, despite appearances, the wounds have not healed. With this film, I want to try to understand what really happened, I want to pay tribute to the dead, and above all, I want to take a step towards reconciliation.” Alassane Diago
Directors’ Bio
Noël Vagbanân
Director, producer, CEO of Holowaba film production, deputy to the Minister of Culture in Guinea, chair of the Visual Arts department.
He has directed several festivals and writing residencies.
He has directed several short social and human rights documentaries, most notably a series of documentaries on Ebola.
Director Statement
After graduating from high school, we organized cooking tours among the students. It was on this occasion that one day, while I was going to buy some fish, I discovered three women returning from fishing. They disembarked from a canoe that came from the sea and I was amazed; I, who am so afraid of the sea.
What are these women doing in a business exclusively run by men? How do they cope with this vast expanse of water? Do they go to sea without apprehension? These questions impelled me to become interested in these women, in their personalities, in their decisions to dedicate themselves to this particular work, in the prejudices and obstacles they had to overcome, but also in their family life.
Guinea’s history is marked by acts of courageous Guinean women. M’Balia was the leading figure in the fight for Guinea’s independence in 1958; Hadja Rabiatou Serah Diallo led the trade union struggle during the 2009 strikes. This applies to almost all areas of Guinea’s socio-political, cultural, and economic life.
Today we are witnessing an ever-increasing emancipation of Guinean women who are
being noticed in jobs traditionally reserved for men. This is also the case of the fisherwomen friends and protagonists in this documentary, who take us to a timeless dimension where hard relentless work seems, at times, steeped in poetry.
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