Ni Chaînes Ni Maîtres (No Chains No Masters) - English subtitled
Historical drama about France’s history of slavery. Two enslaved people unleash a hellish manhunt on Île de France (present-day Mauritius) when they escape from the sugar cane plantation where they were held.
1759, Mauritius Island, Indian Ocean. The island is controlled by French settlers and the deported slave population live in fear while toiling in the sugar cane plantations. Unlike her disillusioned father Massamba, 16-year-old Mati refuses to keep her head down and accept her fate. One night she flees from the plantation, hoping to escape violence and seek freedom in a remote part of the island, where a community of fugitives is said to live. As the plantation owner hires the merciless slave hunter Madame La Victoire and her sons to pursue Mati, Massamba realises the brutal consequences awaiting his daughter if she’s captured. He has no choice but to break his chains and set off on a desperate search for her. As a relentless hunt ensues in the island’s unforgiving jungle, the father and daughter break away from the colonial order forever.
With his debut film, Simon Moutairo is the first director to venture into making a major feature about France's slavery past. He worked closely with historians to stay as close to the truth as possible. The result is a blood-curdling story around power relations in general and colonial history in particular.