Zinder

In the city of Zinder, Niger, in the heart of the Sahel, young people form gangs to deal with the lack of work and prospects. These groups called “Palais” come from the Kara Kara district, historically home to lepers and outcasts. Zinder-born director and activist Aicha Macky returns to her hometown to tell the story of this disenfranchised youth. She talks with these men, whose bodies and the territory in which they live are profoundly scarred by the violence that has passed through them—a pervasive violence the roots of which go back to the time of colonisation. Among them: Siniya Boy, a member of the “Palais Hitler”, who wants to set up a security company with his fellow bodybuilders; and Bawa, a former Palais leader who turned taxi driver, haunted by memories of the atrocities committed. Their friends live off black market petrol, smuggled from the Nigerian border. Aicha Macky paints a moving portrait of Zinder, which she dedicates to the youth of her country.

Alice Riva