When, some years ago, director Nino Tropiano went to Zanzibar to shoot a film for an Irish foundation, he came across a group of young female students, and among them there was one who captured his attention in particular: Samira, who seemed more than all the others eager to emancipate herself through study. Samira was neither more gifted nor more intelligent than the others, but she was certainly the most determined, to the point that she never allowed herself to be stopped by learning difficulties and the resulting failures. The director returned to Zanzibar for several years with the intention of following Samira's progress, constantly balanced between surrendering to becoming only a wife and mother kept by a husband, as most of her girlfriends did, or obtaining a degree that would allow her to find work and be somewhat more independent. It is likely that the relationship with the director encouraged the girl not to give up on her studies; the film therefore seems to be not merely a recording of events, but has profoundly influenced Samira's life choices. The impartiality of the account was lost, but the beautiful story of an enterprising young woman was witnessed, capable of combining private life and study, love and ambitions, who perhaps, without a camera to confide in, would have surrendered to a life different from the one she dreamed of.
An earlier version of the film had already been presented at various events including the Rome Independent Film Festival of 2019. The new and (apparently) definitive version has some modifications in the editing, in which Samira's force of will seems to be privileged over her partial failures, and above all includes the ending in which she truly manages to realize her dreams.