EXCLUSIVE: A first trailer has been unveiled for International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) world premiere Mangabangabaka, directed by Madagascar filmmaker Michaël Andrianaly.

The Malagasy-language film competes in the festival’s international competition and offers a deep dive into Madagascar’s nightlife through personal diary entries and an intimate portrait of Sonia, a sex worker in Toamasina, Madagascar who the filmmaker first met outside a nightclub, and who seeks a fresh start after 30 years on the streets.

The documentary is a coproduction between Sylvie Plunian for France’s Les Films de la Pluie, Andrianaly for Madagascar-based Imasoa Film, Milana Christitch for France’s Ana Films and Mamounata Nikièma for Burkina Faso company Pilumpiku Production.

Les Films de la Pluie and Ana Films are handling sales.

Andrianaly’s credits include Visions du Réel 2023 selection Gwetto.

“I’ve been making documentary films in Toamasina, Madagascar, for a decade,” said Andrianaly. “I’m drawn to stories of people who stand their ground in the face of life’s hardships, the government, and politics. Those who, despite everything, hold on. My filmmaking has become my way of activism, and portraying these people has become a political act. The protagonists I film denounce, in their own way, what’s wrong in Madagascar: expropriation, corruption, the exploitation of one person by another, poverty, inequality, and more.”

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