‘Felicité’ Director Alain Gomis on His Berlinale Competition Comeback ‘Dao’ Set Between France and West Africa

Nine years after winning the Silver Bear for “Félicité,” French director Alain Gomis is returning to the Berlin International Film Festival with “Dao,” his most personal work yet — a three-hour family saga set between France and West Africa.

The helmer, who has Bissau-Guinean and Senegalese origins, wrote and directed the film which stars a mix of actors and newcomers, leading with Katy Correa and D’Johé Kouadio as a mother-and-daughter duo. The story follows them across two ceremonies, a wedding in Paris and funeral in Guinea-Bissau.

In his very first interview discussing the film, Gomis tells Variety that “Dao” did not emerge from a single idea but from a life experience.

The initial spark dates back to 2018, after attending his father’s funeral ceremony in Guinea-Bissau, which was a powerful experience for him. “I remember thinking: I’d like to make a film out of this. I didn’t know how,…