● <B>You have recently completed the second film in your So Far? series of four documentaries about the different waves of immigration to Mauritius. Where did the idea come from?</B>

The story of the project is interesting. Every time my friends come to Mauritius, especially those who are writers, they always ask me many questions about the country. And I?ve gotten a bit tired of repeating the same answers. I had always thought of writing a book about the population of Mauritius. Then one day my daughter, who was 10 at the time, suggested that I make a film about it. A film is a lot more accessible than a book. No tourist is going to read four volumes about immigration to Mauritius. That?s how I embarked on the project.

It?s very important to mention that, although all the facts in them are correct, they are not historical films. They are about human adventures. That?s what interests me. Why people decided to leave whichever countryside they lived in and got on a ship without really knowing where they were off to.

● <B>The first and second films were about Indian and African immigration to Mauritius, respectively. What have you learned about the reasons that pushed people towards immigration?</B>

The story of migration is eternal. The desire to emigrate always stems from the desire to find a better life. The person who leaves his home always does so thinking that he?ll be better off. That?s why he leaves in the first place. Even those who flee political persecution do so believing they?ll find a better life.

I have an anecdote that proves it. We went to Bihar in northern India, from where the ancestors of many Mauritians originate, to shoot the first documentary. Life there is like life in the 19th century, not even the 20th century. A crewmember?s parents had told him that going back to the land of his ancestors would be very moving. The first thing he told me when we arrived there was, ?Fortunately, they [his ancestors] left. Otherwise I?d just be sitting on the side of the road like all these people?.

It goes to show that there?s always that dream to go back to the land of one?s ancestors. But when you go back there, things don?t always live up to expectations. One of the aims of this series of documentaries, which are being co-directed by David Constantin, is to demystify the concept of ancestral land. We tend to glorify it but we mustn?t forget that our ancestors left because they were suffering! Of course, Mauritians of African origin didn?t choose to come to Mauritius. They were simply captured and dumped on boats and sent here.

● <B>The second film, So Far?The Story of African Immigration in Mauritius, will be premiering on July 25. Where did you go to shoot it? </B>

First, we visited the coastal villages in the west of Madagascar. We went to Foulpointe and Tamatave and then all the way down to Fort Dauphin. After that, we crossed the canal of Mozambique and stopped at Ilha de Moçambique, a small island just off the coast of Mozambique, where the fortress of San Sébastian is located. On the mainland we went to Ihambane in the north, to Makoa and to Maputo. We decided not to go to Senegal or Benin because only about 2% of the African immigrants.

● <B>What marked you the most during the making of the second So Far?? </B>

I truly and sincerely hope that this film will help people to look differently at the Creole community. It?s like the old African proverb says, ?If you don?t know where you?re going then look where you come from?. You really understand many things when you see what their ancestors went through. And I don?t just mean the slaves but also everything they?ve been through all the way up to now. The film covers two centuries of history. There are interviews of young Creoles who explain how difficult it is to be Creole. I also interviewed professors, linguists and entrepreneurs. I deliberately chose a wide range of professions and ages.

● <B>And what is the recurrent theme?</B>

The recurrent theme is the road covered up until now. The film talks about the long road towards the light that has been covered since the violent suffering of slavery. The Creole community has accomplished many things. Some of the pain is still there but they have asserted their identity. However, there are some young Creoles who say that everyone except Creoles are able to assert this identity, because when they do it they get accused of being sectarian.

The musician Serge Lebrasse told me that when he started out in his career no one wanted him to play sega. They said it was music for riffraff. He was a teacher in a primary school and the students? parents went to the see the headmaster to tell him that they didn?t want a sega singer to teach their children. Now sega is everywhere, on TV, on the radio?it?s come a long way.

It?s also important to note that the Creole community often speaks of the ostracism of which it is a victim. I can confirm that this ostracism does in fact exist. I realized this when I was looking for sponsors for the second film. All of these big companies that love to talk about corporate social responsibility completely disappeared. They didn?t even bother to reply to the letters and dossiers I sent them. I must say however that some other sponsors have been very supportive.

● <B>What do you hope to accomplish with these four films?</B>

I think they?ll be useful. I hope that by looking at the four films people will be able to recognize what it is exactly that makes a Mauritian. They?re not filmmaker?s films, they?re documentaries. By shooting them I?m basically doing the same job as when I?m doing interviews for Apartés. I?ve already started researching the two last films, which will deal with the French and Chinese immigration. They will be completed by March 2009.

So Far?The Story of African Immigration in Mauritius will premiere at the Star Cinema at the Caudan on July 25.</I>