When Marc Roger, a public reader, sets himself the challenge of walking from Saint-Malo, France, to Bamako, Mali, along with a donkey laden with books to be read aloud,filmmaker Catherine Hébert (The Other Side of the Country) joins him in Morocco, her camera rolling. Every day, thousands of Africans trek northward, hoping to make a better life for themselves. Notes on a Road Less Taken chronicles a journey in the other direction, along the dusty roads and trails of Morocco, Senegal and Mali.
As we follow the pair, the filmmaker’s stunning images and poetic narration create a deeply personal portrait of Africa and its people. Parallel stories emerge from the odyssey: Marc’s, Catherine’s and those of the people they meet on the road. An engrossing road movie, given tremendous depth by its “journeys within the journey” – the fascinating detours taken as the road meanders and forks.
Grand Prize for Best National Feature – RIDM 2011
