Ni chaînes ni maîtres

In Ni chaînes ni maîtres we follow the enslaved Mati, who dreams of a free life, far away from the sugar cane plantation. According to legend, there is a place somewhere on Île de France (present-day Mauritius) where former slaves live in freedom. Mati's father Massamba does not believe this and thinks she should accept her fate. After all, that is the only chance for survival. When Mati escapes anyway and the plantation owner hires the notorious slave hunter Madame de la Victoire to capture her, Massamba sees no other option than to throw off his chains and find his daughter before it is too late.

Ni chaînes ni maîtres is the first recent major French feature film to look at France's slavery past. For the screenplay, director Simon Moutaïrou worked closely with historians to make the film as realistic as possible and thus contribute to awareness of France's slavery past.