Michaël Andrianaly will receive this year’s True Vision Award in honor of his achievements in and contributions to the field of nonfiction filmmaking. His latest film, Gwetto, will screen at the festival in addition to his previous film, Nofinofy (T/F 2020). As part of the award, Andrianaly was invited to present a screening of a film that influenced his filmmaking, and he chose Tokyo Story (Dir. Yasujirō Ozu).
Michaël Andrianaly was born in Tamatave, Madagascar in 1978. He is a director, editor, and photographer, and he has been making films since 2013. His work chronicles the lives of underrepresented people in Madagascar society, building cinematic worlds filled with human details. His storytelling finds beauty in the everyday rhythms of life, shining a light on places that audiences are not often exposed to. Madagascar, its landscape, culture, and politics, play a crucial role in his work, and it has been the backdrop for all of his films to date. His films focus on an individual’s stories as a reflection of the wider social context of his home country.
Gwetto immerses us in the world of a group of young undocumented men who work at a carwash in Tamatave, the economic capital of Madagascar. A beautifully rendered hang out doc, the film shines with Andrianaly’s empathetic and intimate approach. His earlier feature, Nofinofy, is a portrait of a Magalasy barber who has been evicted from his premises and is in search of a new home for his business.