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Film short abstract

In Dakar, a fisherman, a visa-stalled student, and a basketball captain navigate uncertain futures, their dilemmas unfolding against the steady backdrop of a hand-carved pirogue readied for a perilous Atlantic crossing—an ever-present reminder of Europe’s elusive promise.

Film synopsis

Barça ou Barzakh follows three young men in Dakar, their futures carved into the ribs of a wooden pirogue. In Soumbedioune, master boatbuilder Mbaye planes bright planks for a vessel that might one day brave the Atlantic. His craft becomes a refrain linking Ousseynou, a fisherman facing dwindling fish resources and debt; Zakaria, a student trapped in the revolving door of visa paperwork; and Aliou, captain of the PAD basketball team, protecting teammates left unpaid while he dreams of playing abroad.

As the hull takes shape, the film intercuts three lines of pressure and projection. We follow Ousseynou on a fishing session that makes visible the scarcity shaping his days. Back on shore, he shifts into planning mode, seeking out the friends who might travel with him and trading practical talk about routes and timing. At home, his wife Mbathio cooks thieboudiene and weighs the pull of his plans against the danger they carry, while admitting her own wish to travel too. In Saint-Louis, PAD plays another match, hoping a win will bring much-needed bonuses after months without salaries, and feeding Aliou’s belief that sport can still become a passage abroad. In the Medina, Zakaria pursues a student visa for Europe while revisiting his life in Dakar, walking us through the university campus that shaped his ambitions, then working small hustles in Petersen Market, buying and reselling football kits to finance another attempt. The pirogue remains on the beach, a steady presence as each man tests what “leaving” could mean.