Film Comment:
GO-BAMA between Hope & Dreams
An uplifting fly-on-the-wall documentary portraying Barack Obama's presidential campaign and the monumental time of change that led up to Obama's presidency in 2008.
Filmmaker Satti, born to a German mother and Sudanese father, was raised behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany. He follows Obama's campaign trail in a quest to reclaim his own personal sense of hope.
Credits
Original Title: GO-BAMA between Hope & Dreams
Language:
English original version
Country of Origin: Germany
Year : 2010
Duration: 79 Min.
Color, b/w
Director: A. Rahman Satti
Script: A. Rahman Satti
Camera: A. Rahman Satti
Editing: Evelyn Bremer, Alexander Thomas Robins
Sound Mix: Raimund von Scheibner
Music: Dado Dzihan, Zubin Zainal & Andres Atala-Quezada, Nigel Ashser, Arenor Anuku
Starring/Featuring: Luis Dodua Otoo, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Oprah WInfrey, Rev. Deborah Johnson, Vincent Harding, Chip Thomas, Annemarie Stephens, Zachary
Production: Satti & Satti Ltd., A. Rahman Satti
Photo archives: Deutsches Bundesarchiv, Getty Images, Archiv Wiegemann
archive footage: CNN, Fox, PBS, MSNBC, Youtube
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Director's Notes
For the son of an East German mother and a Sudanese father the story of Obama, with his Kenyan father and single mom from Kansas, was deeply moving. The impact of an absentee father on a boyish Obama was not different from my own story.
As the only black kid in town, I often dreamed that I could run away and live with my father. Growing up with a mother who remarried a Stasi informer had broken my sense of belonging and opened up many questions. It wasn't the visible bonds of race and class that pulled me towards Obama's message - the longing for a better world interested me the most.
Obama positioned himself within the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., borrowed swagger from Malcolm X, and sat on the sofa in true Oprah style. He emanated a universal message that inspired me.
The biggest challenge to making this film was my cynicism. I had cultivated an German apathy and fear throughout the years. The hype and uplifting energy got to me. I returned home to Berlin with more than 100 hours footage about this historical paradigm shift. Something had shifted when I landed: I was ready for change.
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