Bye Bye Africa (1999)

In this autobiographical drama, a film director (Mahamet-Saleh Haroun) who was born in Chad but now lives and works in France receives a phone call late one night, with the news that his mother has died. The director goes home for the first time in a decade to discover that he barely recognizes the impoverished land of his birth. His father has little understanding of or respect for his work, so the director decides to make a film in Chad. However, the boom in pirate videotapes had decimated Chad's film industry, and it's all but impossible to secure financing. The director presses on anyway, auditioning local actors and reuniting with his former girlfriend (Aicha Yelena), who appeared in one of his early films, which had negative consequences for her. Mahamet-Saleh Haroun wrote and directed Bye Bye Africa, as well as playing the leading role. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi