AFS Essentials Presents Black Dju

It's bad enough being a stranger in a strange land, but when you need assistance from the local people to help solve the mysterious disappearance of your father, things can get downright maddening. Tonight, the Austin Film Society sends us on a suspenseful quest as they presents Black Dju, the fifth offering in the Essentials Series Torn From the Motherland: Films of the African Diaspora.

20-year-old Dju Dele Dibonga (Richard Courcet) hails from sunny Cape Verde Island, where he and his family receive regular checks from his father, a "guest worker" in the far away, land-locked country of Luxembourg. When his father fails to make his yearly visit and the checks no longer arrive from the post, Dju knows that something is wrong and sets off on a journey to track him down. However, the Luxembourgians do not exactly welcome him, or his kind, with open arms, offering absolutely no aid in his search. With the threat of deportation by overzealous immigration authorities constantly looming over his head, Dju gets a sudden break in his cold case when Inspecteur Plettschette (Philippe Léotard), a boozehound police lieutenant, decides to aid in the hunt for the missing man.

Stories like these and the ones that have been told to us by various friends who advocate for migrant workers here and around the world make us extremely thankful that we do not have to leave our own country, or even our own city, in order to make enough money to support our families.