In Abidjan, a city in full social mutation, a group of men aged 15 to 25 spend their days running online scams, taking advantage of the wealth and loneliness of white European women. For Rolex the Portuguese and his friends, it's the easiest way to buy expensive watches, classy clothes and fancy shoes, enjoy the city's crazy nightlife and, ultimately, collect on the "colonial debt." Years of civil war and economic crisis have left these Ivorian youth disoriented, adrift in pervasive Western materialism and social media culture. The phenomenon of internet fraud, explains the protagonist, has become a way of life, a branch to hang onto. Which doesn't mean they don't fear and respect their elders—they'll even make traditional sacrifices to their ancestors for help in scamming their "clients." In intimate and striking vérité, Joël Akafou portrays a disarmingly lucid new generation of West Africans. Charlotte Selb
Co-presented with Toronto Black Film Festival.