WHITE SOUVENIRS

Anna and her brother Leon explore the legacy of their deceased grandfather who had worked in Africa. This triggers a painful memory in Anna of an encounter with a Nigerian refugee. When she sets off to find him, the siblings’ approach becomes challenged.

Sachs’ fiction debut is both an intimate examination of his German family’s past in Africa and a reflection on his encounters with African refugees in today’s Europe.

Using original locations in Italy, the film was shot like a documentary with amateur actors and family members who ultimately play themselves. The scenes were improvised in a lively debate, and it is left to the audience to decide which parts of the story are true.