Described as a literal and metaphorical journey towards enlightenment, director Eva Weber’s award-winning documentary Black Out, will have its West Coast Premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in the International Showcase in mid-June. 

Synopsis reads: 

Every day during exam season, as the sun sets over Conakry, Guinea, hundreds of school children begin a nightly pilgrimage to the airport, petrol stations and wealthier parts of the city, searching for light. This evocative documentary tells how children reconcile their lives in one of the world’s poorest countries with their desire to learn, in the face of the country’s own struggle for change.

Only about a fifth of Guineans have access to electricity. With few families able to afford generators, children have discovered the international airport, petrol stations and traffic roundabouts as unlikely places to study for their exams. They are amongst the only places where they will always find light.

This film had its world premiere at IDFA in November and has since won prizes on the international festival circuit. It was developed in association with Chicken & Egg Pictures.

The film’s LAFF screenings are scheduled for Saturday, June 15 at 5 PM and Friday, June 21 at 9:50 PM. 

Watch the trailer below:

Black Out – Trailer from HSI Short Films on Vimeo.