SONNY BOY

This is a true story of Waldemar, a black man from Suriname. This “epic” film starts in 1911 and finishes in 1945. The first images du Sonny Boy show the young Waldemar in the old district in Paramaribo. He is a good student. In order to continue his studies he leaves Suriname for the “mother country” which are the Netherlands. Here he will meet Rika and he falls in love with her. The contrast couldn’t be greater: he is young and black and she is seventeen years older, white and a divorced mother of four children. Their relationship is openly disapproved by their environment. Love and their own son keep them going during the crisis years in which he is confronted with racism. The family gets help from a Jew, an owner of a café-music hall. The family has for a while a happy time. Their son gets the nickname of “Sonny Boy”. Then the Second World War breaks out and Holland is invaded. This affects their live. The family comes in contact with the resistance movement and they decide to give shelter to Jews persecuted by the Nazis. She risks their lives. In 2012 the film was screened in Kinshasa and also selected for the Best Oscar for Best Foreign film in Hollywood.