Synopsis

They were called fahavalo - enemies - because they rebelled in 1947 against French colonial authorities in Madagascar. Today, filmmaker Marie-Clémence Andriamonta Paes takes us where the events took place, on a journey to meet the last witnesses. They tell us about their fight for independence and their long months of resistance in the jungle, armed only with spears and talismans. When Malagasy soldiers came back from WWII, they expected de Gaulle to give them independence. Instead, they were asked to return to their indigenous status and provide unfree labour in coffee plantations. They soon organized an uprising, harshly repressed by the French and their heavy weaponry. They resisted for months though, with the help of shamans and their magic formulas. Through the mesmerizing music of Régis Gizavo, the dialogue between never seen archive footage from the 40's and heartfelt testimonies makes us travel into a forgotten past. A journey into history, filmed today, along the railways, through the forest, from the Highlands to the East coast of Madagascar.