Malagasy Mankany

Three sociology students — Jimi, Bob, and Dylan — travel from Antananarivo into the deep Malagasy countryside after Jimi's father falls gravely ill. What begins as a road trip becomes a reckoning with friendship, duty, and what it means to be young and Malagasy. The title is drawn from a poem by Randza Zanamihoatra known to every Malagasy school student, and can be translated as Malagasy people in development — the film takes the idea seriously, finding in an ordinary journey the questions of a generation. Director Hamy Ratovo, who also appears in the film, combines comedy and drama in a distinctly Malagasy register. It won audience awards at the Hollywood Black Film Festival and Vues d'Afrique, and was selected for FESPACO.