BLACK TEA

Aya is a woman in her early thirties. After astonishing everyone by saying “No“ on her wedding day, she leaves the Ivory Coast for a new life in China. Living in an area where the African diaspora meets the Chinese culture, she finds a job in a tea boutique owned by Cai, Chinese man. Cai initiates Aya into the Chinese tea ceremony. As he teaches her this ancient art, their relationship grows into love. But for their burgeoning passion to be supported by trust, both of them must let go of their burdens and face up to their pasts.

ABDERAMAN SISAKO / ABDERRAHMANE SISSAKO

Abderrahmane Sissako was born in Mauritania in 1961 and brought up in Mali, he went to Soviet Union to attend the VGIK film school in Moscow. He shot there his first shorts: his graduation film The Game (1989) and October (1992) shown at the Festival de Cannes in 1993. In the early 90’s Sissako settled in France. He directed Life on Earth (1998), featured at the Directors’ Fortnight. His film Waiting for Happiness (2002) was selected at Un Certain Regard and received the FIPRESCI award. He returned to Cannes with Bamako (2006). His film Timbuktu (2014) was screened in competition at Cannes. It became Mauritania’s first entry to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards (2015), and won seven César awards in France, including Best Director and Best Film.