Yopougon - Way Back Home

Client: Royal Film
Year: 2023
Project type: Documentary
Runtime: 85 min
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Description

When the excavator drives in and demolishes his recording studio on Pfingstweidstrasse in Zurich, Swiss hit producer, Dodo, decides to pack his equipment into a shipping container and travel the world with it. Four years later, the musician is chugging down the Rhine from Basel on a cargo ship, reaching South Africa, Ghana, and finally the Ivory Coast where he spent his childhood. On his journey, he wants to discover new music, write hits, and revisit his earliest memories in Yopougon that still shape him today: eating pineapples on the beach at Vridi, the mango tree in the garden, the unexpected return to Switzerland, his father’s early death.
Dodo’s journey “back to the roots” unfolds differently than planned. Dreams burst, memories collide with the reality of the present, the container ship gets stuck halfway, and the project threatens to crash due to disagreements. Big J, Dodo’s companion and co-producer, finds himself wondering more than once: What are we actually doing here – and why?

Producer

Simone Seiterle

Director

Alexis Amitirigala

Cinematography

Sergio Cassini, Ivan Aebischer, Atila Ulcay

Editorial

Stefan Kälin, Karim Patwa