In 1998, Jean-Marie Teno went back, just for the summer, to the land of his childhood in Cameroon. From Yaoundé, the city, to Bandjoun, the village where he once used to spend his holidays, this journey enables him to take subjective, amply documented stock of his country, adopting an ironic tone. Moving from encounter to encounter, the filmmaker denounces official incompetence and the fascination for modernity imported from Europe, unsuited to Africa and its traditions.
He notes with regret that "school taught us to scorn the symbols of our culture, to despise the discourse of our grandparents". Seeking a new model for Africa, he aspires to a form of modernity that would serve the greatest number, one that would reconcile the country with its own culture.

A voyage in search of the illusion of modernity, which haunts Cameroonian society. A Trip to the Country questions, sometimes ironically, the notion of development associated in Africa with a tropical modernity which can be summarized as follows: Everything from Europe is modern, while all things local are archaic and must be discarded. After the ravages of slavery and colonialism, the African continent now faces another threat: educational systems, which perpetuate inferiority complexes and dependence vis-à-vis the West. This self-destructive mentality also establishes a social hierarchy placing modern city dwellers above backward rural people. A Trip to the Country is a personal reflection on our obsession with modernity, our desire to conform to a certain model of development , which ironically turns our backs on the possibility of real progress, and perpetuates our dependency to Humanitarian so-called aid.

A film by Jean-Marie TENO

Cameroon/France/Germany, 2008 | Documentary | 75 minutes

Produced and directed by Jean-Marie Teno
Camera: Jean-Marie Teno and Moussa Diakité
Sound: Lardia Thombiano
Music: Ben's Belinga and Marianne Entat
Editor: Christiane Badgley

A Films du Raphia production | Co-produced by ZDF/ARTE

FESTIVALS / AWARDS / SCREENINGS
- 2001 Theatrical release.
- 2000 Berlin Film Festival
o 2000 Cinema du Reel
- 2000 Visions du Reel, Nyon
o 2000 San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival
- 2000 Munich Documentary Festival
o 2000 Festival Vues d'Afrique - Montréal : Grand prix de la communication inter-culturelle
- Documenta 2002 Selection | KASSEL, Germany