How far would you go to save your own life? How far would you go to save the life of someone you love? Deceptively minimalist in its story and action, the Dominican Republic’s official Oscar entry “Bantú Mama” is a slow burner that rewards viewers with its poignant meditations on survival, the diaspora experience, and family, both biological and found. 

Clarisse Albrecht stars as Emmanuelle, AKA Emma, a Cameroonian-French embroiled in legal trouble after a botched attempt to smuggle cocaine into the Dominican Republic. After her arrest, the police car transporting Emma gets into a collision, killing the officer but sparing Emma, granting her a lifeline.

With nowhere to