AllMovie

Two tales of African exiles in Paris are interwoven in this rama. Amy (Dorylia Calmel was eight years old and living in Paris when her birth mother from the West African nation of Burkina Faso abandoned the family. Amy was adopted by Marie (Dominique Reymond) and has grown up in a caring household, but as she grows to adulthood, Amy wonders about the mother who left her behind, and travels to Burkina Faso in hopes of finding her. Arriving in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, Amy calls on her aunt, Acita (Blandine Yameogo), who sullenly claims to have no knowledge of what became of her sister, though Amy believes she knows more than she's letting on. Meanwhile, Mariam (Assita Ouedraogo) left Burkina Faso to move to France, and she now makes her living as a cleaning woman. Esther (Nathalie Richard) is an executive at an office where Mariam sweeps up; Esther hires Mariam to give her lessons on the African language of Dioula. However, Marium isn't sure why Esther is so interested until she discovers the woman harbors a secret. Notre Etrangere (aka The Place In Between) was the first feature film from writer and director Sarah Bouyain.