»It’s not my intention to try and establish an African or Senegalese identity but more to understand a movement – in this case, the movement of travel and its progress. Everything’s a bit like I am myself actually: I cannot decide whether I am Senegalese or French. … Although the Senegalese diaspora is scattered around the world, it is well organised, with a very strong sense of belonging to its homeland. For the youth of the African continent, North America is the measure of all things and the land of their dreams. France and Europe are but stages on the way there. The opposite pole, as represented by Thierno, was to my mind indispensable: he takes the opposite route, while the Afro-American culture – from rap to blaxploitation – has long since made inroads into Senegalese culture.«
– Dyana Gaye

The paths of Sophie, Abdoulaye and Thierno are fated to cross between Turin, Dakar and New York. The 24 -year-old Sophie leaves Dakar to live with her husband Abdoulaye in Turin. Abdoulaye, meanwhile, has landed in New York, using a people smugglers network. For his part, the 19-year-old Thierno is travelling for the first time in his life from New York to Africa. In Under the Starry Sky, director Dyana Gaye follows her protagonists through the various cities and draws a highly topical picture of the situation for emigrants with all their hardships, hopes and dreams.

Awards for ›Des étoiles‹
Grand Prix du jury et Prix du Public du long métrage Français Festival Premiers Plans d’Angers 2014