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On the day that Lansana Mansaray was born, a tree was planted in his name in his father’s Limba village. Now an Emmy and Peabody nominated filmmaker, Mansaray returns to the same village to better understand the essential relationship that Limbas share with the trees that define every aspect of community life.
As the smooth highways of Freetown give way to vermillion dirt roads, the car becomes just one means of transport; there’s the scent of chuk chuk plums, a memory of the Matorma sound (a singular rhythm associated with sacred Limba rituals), as well as jokes and poignant moments of connection arising from Mansaray’s diligent efforts to speak Limba. For a “city Limba man” like Mansaray, returning to his deceased father’s homeland becomes a journey of Indigenous reclamation. Amidst celebratory, humorous, and quotidian moments of village life, Mansaray interweaves reflections from a community that has endured more than its share of hardship — colonization, a civil war, and growing threats to the forests that the Limbas treasure. As with pouring out a little palm wine for the ancestors, Ma ŋaye ka Masaala a se ka Wɔmɛti is an offering to those who came before and to those who are still here. But as Mansaray playfully lets the viewer know, some things should not be shared with the rest of the world. |
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Director Biography - Lansana MansarayLansana Mansaray (Limba) is a Freetown-based director of photography, musician, and Emmy and Peabody Award nominated filmmaker. His most recent feature documentary, THE NEW BOATS, explores the lives of local fishermen from the Freetown Peninsula
whose livelihoods and family legacies are threatened by the growing presence of industrial Asian trawlers that overfish the waters off West Africa. THE NEW BOATS debuted on ARTE in 2022 and has screened at dozens of film festivals around the world, including the International Ocean Film Festival, where it received the 2023 Coastal and Island Culture Award. In 2018, Mansaray co-directed and co-produced SURVIVORS, which explored the complexity of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and the socio-political turmoil that lay in its wake. SURVIVORS became the first West African film to receive an Emmy nomination. Prior to Survivors, Mansaray worked as a cinematographer on DECISIONS; GIRL RISING; THEY ARE WE; and MEET THE AFRICANS: MANY RIVERS TO CROSS, which received a Primetime Emmy. Known both by his given name and by his nickname, Barmmy Boy, Mansaray is a founder and production manager of WeOwnTV at the Freetown Media Center. A collaborative media project that promotes self-expression and community engagement, WeOwnTV provides local filmmakers with intensive media production training and professional development. Through WeOwnTV, Mansaray has collaborated and worked extensively with international organizations, including British Council, US Embassy Freetown, Generation Africa, UNICEF, Defence for Children International. In 2020, Mansaray was awarded Admiral of the Humber by the mayor of Hull City (UK) in recognition of outstanding achievement in filmmaking. His work as a filmmaker has garnered grant support from numerous international agencies, including ITVS, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Doc Society, Catapult Film Fund, the Bertha Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. |
Director Statement
My film was born from my father’s wish that I always remember my ancestral land, my roots, the foundation of my existence. Though my father is no longer with us, in returning to his village, I’m also reminded to respect the environment and the abundance that Kanu-masala (God) has provided for us.
I hope that this film sheds light on the importance of protecting Indigenous lands from rampant deforestation by logging companies — in West Africa and around the world. The forest provides all that we need as well as our treasures, such as palm wine. Like the air we breathe, our trees are essential to every aspect of Limba life.
I hope that this film sheds light on the importance of protecting Indigenous lands from rampant deforestation by logging companies — in West Africa and around the world. The forest provides all that we need as well as our treasures, such as palm wine. Like the air we breathe, our trees are essential to every aspect of Limba life.
