Dôlé

Mougler and his three friends Bay Lee, Joker and Bézingo live in Libreville, the capital of Gabon. Mougler is the only one who lives with his mother, the other 15-year-olds live in complete freedom on the street. When they have had enough of hanging out and the usual mischief, their interest shifts to dolé, a very popular but risky game of chance. The friends’ yearning for money increases, but becomes urgent when Mougler’s mother falls severely ill and there is no money for the medicine she needs.Imunga Ivanga reveals himself to be a great storyteller in his film. The most important source of this, as he says himself, was provided by his parents and grandparents: entirely in keeping with the oral tradition of Gabon they encouraged his imagination from his earliest years. Later inspiration came from the numerous cartoon strips he read.After making several striking short films and documentaries about his country, Ivanga now provides a significant impulse in Dolé to revitalising the aesthetics of today’s African cinema. At the Festival of Carthage in Tunisia, Ivanga won the Tanit d’Or with his début film.