Io Capitano (MA 15+)

Io Capitano (Me Captain) tells the adventurous journey of two young men, Seydou and Moussa, who leave Dakar to reach Europe. A contemporary Odyssey through the pitfalls of the desert, the horrors of detention centres in Libya and the dangers of the sea.

Writer-director Garrone presents a "reverse shot" of the immigration experience while unfurling an epic, cinematographically magnificent odyssey from West Africa to Italy. The story is told through the mind’s eye and experiences of two Senegalese teenagers living in Dakar who yearn for a brighter future in Europe. Yet between their dreams and reality lies a treacherous journey through a labyrinth of checkpoints, the scorched Saharan desert, a fetid North African prison and the vast waters of the Mediterranean where thousands have died packed inside vessels barely fit for passage.

Nominated for Best International Film at the 2024 Academy Awards, Golden Globe Nominee, Winner of Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, and numerous other awards, Io Capitano is one of the standout films of the year.

Cast: Affif Ben Badra, Seydou Sarr, Issaka Sawadogo

Director: Matteo Garrone

★★★★★ "Gripping" ARTS DESK

★★★★½ "an astonishing achievement" STUFF.CO.NZ

★★★★½ "Intensely personal, the film finds global resonance in its specific story of a 16-year-old whose innate hopefulness is beaten and battered but never extinguished over the course of an astonishing odyssey" SHADOWS ON THE WALL

★★★★½ "A powerful look at the immigration crisis seen from the perspective of two Senegalese teens who undertake a harrowing journey by land and sea to reach Italy." FILM YAP

★★★★ "A harrowing yet hopeful migration odyssey" DAILY TELEGRAPH UK

★★★★ "a heartrending story of the end of innocence, seen through the horrors of immigration from West Africa to Libya to catch a dangerous boat to Italy" THE SKINNY

★★★★ "passionate exposé of how greed, trauma and corruption drive the modern-day slave trade in would-be migrants" GUARDIAN

★★★★ "There have been other films about the perils of illegal immigration, but few have struck me with the force of Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano." SMH