Gifts from Babylon is an award-winning short film exploring the psychological impact of irregular Africa-EU migration through the lens of a Gambian return-migrant. The film shows the personal conflicts that arise when Modou (Christopher 'Tijan' Smith), a young deportee from The Gambia, returns to his home country after five years of living illegally in Europe. Suffering from intense flashbacks of his traumatic migrant journey, which keep him from reconnecting with his family, friends and himself, he wonders what has become of him.

Gifts from Babylon is the result of a collaboration between Gambian media production house State of Mic and Dutch filmmaking duo Bas Ackermann and Emiel Martens. The film received its world premiere at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2018 and has since been shown at 75+ film festivals and other events worldwide. The film has been selected, among many others, for the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles and the Black Star International Film Festival, Accra, and has won several awards, including the Award for Best Fiction Film at The Hague Film Awards and the Award for Best Short Film at the London Fragments Festival.

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Title: Gifts from Babylon
Concepter: Babucar Manka
Director: Bas Ackermann together with Amadou A Sillah, Modou Joof & Babucar Manka
Year: 2018
Country: The Gambia and the Netherlands
Runtime: 24'
Language: English
Subtitles: English

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This film is part of, YardVibes, the joint streaming platform by Africadelic and Caribbean Creativity, two Amsterdam-based non-profit organizations dedicated to showcasing films by independent African and Caribbean creators. Featuring a growing catalogue of more than 100 titles, YardVibes offers a diverse selection of feature films, web series, documentaries, and short films, with new titles added every month. All films are available for individual rental at an affordable price, with the majority of the proceeds going directly to the filmmakers and content creators. For more information, visit Caribbean Creativity at www.caribbeancreativity.org and Africadelic at www.africadelic.com.