The Dutch documentary Welcome to the Smiling Coast: Living in the Gambia Ghetto has been selected for the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF), the largest Black film festival in America. The film by director Bas Ackermann and producer Emiel Martens will have its world premiere at the festival, which takes place next month from February 4–15 in Los Angeles.

Welcome to the Smiling Coast offers a unique glimpse into the daily lives of fifteen young Gambians trying to make ends meet on the fringes of the tourism industry. Over the past ten years, Gambia has become increasingly popular as a holiday destination for Europeans seeking sun, sea, and sex. Since 2005, the small West African country has typically received more than 100,000 visitors a year, mostly older white women, leading the Gambian coastline to be dubbed the Costa del Sol of Africa.

The luxury enjoyed by tourists often stands in stark contrast to the opportunities available to local residents, who sometimes live in shantytowns literally a stone's throw from tourist hotels and beaches. For this reason, some young Gambians view the illegal crossing to Europe as their only hope for a better life. Welcome to the Smiling Coast portrays, in a lighthearted yet critical manner, the alternative and often creative strategies employed by young Gambians to survive. They speak candidly about their work, their dreams, and their fears, ultimately raising the question of whether they will seek their fortune abroad or manage to find their final destination back home in Gambia.

Welcome to the Smiling Coast is the first feature-length documentary by The Hague filmmaker Bas Ackermann and Amsterdam film scholar Emiel Martens. They made the film on a minimal budget, funded from within their own ranks and without any form of subsidy. Ackermann: 'The idea originated about eight years ago, when I set up 'State of Mic' in Gambia, an audiovisual center to train young people there to become media professionals. Some of them also worked on Welcome to the Smiling Coast as crew members.' Martens: 'In times of one-sided and simplistic portrayals, especially surrounding the refugee crisis, we try to present a more human and positive face of Africa and Africans. And also to offer a critical perspective on the functioning and impact of Western tourism. We are very honored that our film will have its premiere at PAFF, which was founded in the 1990s by Danny Glover, among others, and we are working hard to screen it at other international film festivals as well.'

The exact date of the premiere of Welcome to the Smiling Coast is not yet known, but will be posted online on the film's website immediately after the announcement: www.welcometothesmilingcoast.com. Selections at other film festivals will also be published here.



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