Tour du Faso

"Tour du Faso" is a story about three underdogs at the Tour du Faso, Africa’s biggest cycling race – which runs directly across the sandy desert. Amid the clash of European perfectionism and African realities we follow German hobby adventurers, French ex-pros and African local heroes in their passionate fight for making their dreams come true. Yet, our film does not focus on the question of who will win – instead, the focus of our attention lies on the value of the protagonists’ experiences.

The Tour du Faso is legendary among fans and racing cyclists all around the world. While the race is an adaptation of the “Tour de France”, it has still retained its original and very African character as a “flawed” – but much more sympathetic – copy of its European model.  Some parts of the course are mere sand tracks, the advertising “caravan” consists of a single car, from which bouillon cubes and toothpaste are distributed among the onlookers, and instead of being broadcasted on video cubes, commercials are performed live at the finishing line by amateur actors.

In "Tour du Faso", we take the audience with us on this time travel back into pre-commercialised decades. Following the “Tour du Faso”, we will get to know more about cycling, Africa, and the fighting spirit of sympathetic underdogs in their original meaning. Here it is still the taking part that counts...