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Dao

Competition 2026
© 2026 – Les Films du Worso – Srab Films – Yennenga Productions – Nafi Films – Telecine Bissau Produções – Canal+ Afrique
The film begins with a definition of its title: “DAO is a perpetual and circular movement which flows in everything and unites the world.” And then it proceeds to take us to the casting of Gloria, a character whose daughter is about to be married. An off-screen voice directing the casting session tells us that “the first step is to make this family”. Actors and non-actors are cast and brought together to become relatives who will all celebrate a wedding in Paris and commemorate the loss of their patriarch in Guinea-Bissau. Their individual stories and their common threads of heritage are woven together with fact and fiction as they travel between these two worlds; love, laughter, ritual, pain and history intertwined. Perpetual circular movement framing reality.
by Alain Gomis (Director, Screenplay)
with Katy Correa, D’Johé Kouadio, Samir Guesmi, Mike Etienne, Nicolas Gomis, Fara Baco Gomis, Poundo Gomis France / Senegal / Guinea-Bissau 2026 French, Wolof, Manjak, Guinea-Bissau Creole 185' Colour World premiere

With

  • Katy Correa (Gloria)
  • D’Johé Kouadio (Nour)
  • Samir Guesmi (Slimane)
  • Mike Etienne (James)
  • Nicolas Gomis (Pierre)
  • Fara Baco Gomis (Jean)
  • Poundo Gomis (Diminga)

Crew

Director Alain Gomis
Screenplay Alain Gomis
Cinematography Céline Bozon, Amath Niane, Mabeye Deme
Editing Alain Gomis, Fabrice Rouaud, Assetou Koné, Dimitri Ouedraogo, Elizabeth Ndiaye, Moustapha Mbalo Dieng
Music Gaspard Gomis, Space Dukes, Keïta Janota, Cie
Sound Design Dana Farzanephour, Franck Cartaut
Production Design Eliane Lorthiois, Moussa Diene
Producers Sylvie Pialat, Benoît Quainon, Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barral
Co-Producers Yoro Mbaye, Alain Gomis

Produced by

Les Films du Worso

Paris, France

Srab Films

Paris, France

Co-produced by

Yennenga Productions

Dakar, Senegal

Nafi Productions

Dakar, Senegal

Telecine Bissau Producoes

Bissau, Guinea-Bissau

World Sales

The Party Film Sales

Paris, France

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Alain Gomis

© Mabeye Deme

Born in 1972 in Paris, France, he studied history of art and film. In 2001, he directed his debut feature film, L’afrance, which won a Silver Leopard at Locarno. His feature films Aujourd’hui and Félicité were both selected for the Berlinale Competition while his first feature-length documentary Rewind & Play, about the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, screened in the Forum. In 2018, he founded the Yennenga Centre in Dakar, Senegal, a socio-cultural centre and school for cinema with the intention of developing film production and post-production in West Africa. 

Filmography

2001 L’afrance 2007 Andalucia 2012 Tey; Berlinale 2012 2017 Félicité; Berlinale 2017 2022 Rewind & Play; documentary 2026 Dao; Berlinale 2026

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026