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After decades of French rule, the African nation of Guinea won its independence in 1958, but under the administration of President Sékou Touré, Guinea drifted into a period of political corruption and economic collapse as Touré became an absolute ruler. Manthia Diawara is a filmmaker who fled Guinea with his family in the early '60s; accompanied by a camera crew, he returned in 2003 to explore the current state of the land of his birth. Conakry Kas documents Diawara's visit to Guinea's capitol city, Conakry, as he visits with artists, intellectuals, politicians, visiting dignitaries, and citizens on the street to discuss the many challenges facing the country (a marginalized economy, AIDS, inadequate funding for public works, unchecked immigration) as well as its strengths (music, culture, and a strong sense of national identity). Conakry Kas received its American premiere at the 2004 San Francisco Black Film Festival.