ANANSI Made in Germany

Dazzling us with this original odyssey of immigration, director Fritz Baumann’s characters are humorous, deep and alive. In West Africa, the name “Anansi” means “spider,” representative of a well loved trickster. In numerous fables, he successfully uses his charm and wits to turn even hopeless situations to his own advantage.

ANANSI is the tale of one of those situations, chronicling the grueling trek of a group of West African immigrants through the deserts of Morocco to Germany, spurred by a powerful idealism that life in Europe will be better than West Africa. From Ghana to the coast, on to Morocco, through Spain and finally Germany-out of desperate need, the group dares the perilous journey. And when they arrive, the characters are trapped between two cultures.

Underscored by luminous photography and the vivid soundtrack of Roman Bunka, accompanied by the Reggae Superstar Shaggy’s title song Why Me Lord, director Fritz Baumannt urns an unflinching eye on Western culture, transforming the spirit of this road movie into a self-aware, stirring film.