Films in Distribution
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Dir. Helle Toft Jensen, Senegal / Denmark, 2005; 59 min.
 As a young man, the now 45-year-old Jeannot left his native Senegal to try
his luck in Europe. Initially he worked as a dishwasher in a bar, but when
he fell in love and married a wealthy Belgium woman, his life
Changed completely.
25 years later, Jeannot's marriage and life in Europe are over and he
decides to return to native Senegal to realize a childhood dream: building a
HOTEL in a heart of the coastal village of Popenguine.
After being absent for nearly a quarter of a century, Jeannot wants to
become and to be seen as the proud African entrepreneur in his homeland.
After months of hard work, the hotel's sophisticated construction is
completed. As a final touch Jeannot places on the wall portraits of Bob
Marley and Martin Luther King, his two idols. Jeannot's high expectations
are set in motion, but tourists don't come. Month after month the situation
remains the same.
Feeling misunderstood and rejected by the village and desperate to pay back
bank loans, Jeannot starts questioning his return. He recognizes the
difficulties of adjusting to a new reality, and examines his already
Westernized identity as he struggles to blend in with the community.
In the end, Birane, the local taxi driver who brings tourists to the
village and wishes for the hotel to succeed, volunteers to set up a meeting
between Jeannot and the village council. The parties move a step closer
together, sparking new hopes for Jeannot's dream project to get realized.
HOTEL OF DREAMS is a thoughtful, delicate and observant film that reflects
on issues of a complex modern identity, globalization, and moral values.
At the same time, it is also a moving personal story of an African man's
journey back home after a long time in the white European society.
Skillfully directed and cinematographed by Helle Toft Jensen, the film
unmistakably has a co-author, Jeannot himself.
Beautiful tracks by Senegalese music sensations Youssou N'Dour and Baaba
Maal adds to films' charm. | |
