Hawa – TIFF 2022

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A young albino girl hopes to be adopted by Michelle Obama in Hawa. Hawa (Sania Halifa) is a 15-year-old afro-sporting albino girl who lives with her grandmother Maminata (Oumou Sangaré), who is not expected to live long. When Hawa finds out that Michelle Obama is in Paris for four days as part of a book tour, she decides to track down Obama to ask that she adopt Hawa.

Hawa is the sophomore feature from writer/director Maïmouna Doucouré (Cuties), with the lead protagonist being a very unique-looking albino girl with a blonde afro and coke-bottle glasses. Hawa’s grandmother Maminata is terminally ill and has yet to find a new family for her soon-to-be orphaned granddaughter. However, Hawa thinks big when she decides that she wants to be adopted by Michelle Obama, and she goes on a four-day journey that sees her crossing paths with the singer Yseult and astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

Hawa is a wonderful film about this teenage girl’s determination to get adopted by Michelle Obama, despite many failed attempts. While her appearance may be the selling point, Sania Halifa owns the screen as the titular Hawa. It probably would’ve been impossible for director Maïmouna Doucouré to get the real Michelle Obama to appear in the film. However, Hawa still manages to avoid showing Obama on camera while having a satisfying conclusion.

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