Waiting for Happiness

"One of the dramas of Africa is that its people are rarely confronted by its own image."
—Director Abderrahmane Sissako

The lyrical Waiting for Happiness offers an uncommon glimpse of everyday life in Nouadhibou, a port town in northwestern Africa. The latest film from one of Africa's most lyrical directors, Waiting for Happiness offers a glimpse of everyday life in Nouadhibou, a small port town in the northwestern republic of Mauritania surrounded by desert and ocean.

The story follows Abdallah, a middle-aged man who visits home on his way back to Europe. During his stay, he finds himself relearning his native language and reconnecting to the people who live in this transitory place. It's a metaphorical situation dear to Sissako, a Mauritanian native educated in Russia and now based in Paris. (95 mins.)