Documentary · 39 min · 2026
As long as there is life
A film by Indi Casadei · Indi Casa Production · Clapstories Production
At seven, he was adopted and flown from Togo to Switzerland, leaving behind an empty space where his mother had been. Years later, with his daughter now seven herself, Indi returns to West Africa to find the family he lost.
Synopsis
From the first snow back to the red earth
A market in Lomé under a black sky torn by lightning. The rain runs orange with earth. A small boy, tied to his mother's back, warm and safe while the storm roars. It is one of the few memories Indi still carries of her. Then one day, she is gone, without a trace.
Two years in an orphanage. At seven, he is adopted: a plane, a Swiss family, a new home, and his first snow.
Years later, Indi is a father, and his daughter is seven, the age he was when he left. Together they travel from Geneva to Togo and Benin, toward the family he lost.
Indikwe is a film about roots and absence, and about what we pass on to our children when the past has left us empty-handed.
Film info
About the film
- TitleIndikwe – As Long as There Is Life
- Original titleIndikwe – Tant qu'il y a de la vie
- TypeDocumentary
- GenreAutobiographical
- Running time39 minutes
- CountriesSwitzerland, Togo, Benin
- LanguageFrench, with English subtitles
- DirectorIndi Casadei
- Director of photographyLoïc Morant
- ProductionIndi Casa Production, Clapstories Production
Director's statement
I made Indikwe at a turning point. I had just walked away from commercial work to give myself fully to documentary, and something kept pulling me back toward the red earth I had left at seven.
When I first spoke publicly about my adoption in Switzerland, the story travelled much further than I expected. That is when I understood this journey was not only mine. Identity, absence, belonging: so many of us carry these questions in silence.
Turning the camera toward myself was the hardest part. It meant opening memories I had kept closed for most of my life.
I made this film with my friend Loïc Morant, who co-produced it with me, behind the camera and in the edit. We shared the same belief: lived moments over constructed stories.
My daughter had to be there. She was seven, the age I was when I left Togo. Bringing her with me, I understood that what I had never received as heritage, I could now pass on.
Indikwe let me gather the pieces of my past, and turn absence into something I can give.
Above all, it is for my mother, who carried me on her back through the storm. I hope it leaves you with a little more kindness, a little more openness, and faith in the small miracles of life.
Indi Casadei
Stills
From the film
High-resolution stills and the poster are included in the press kit.
Credits
The people behind the film
Indi Casadei
Anysia Casadei
Nora-Rose Casadei
Gabi Apetcho
Christine Casadei
Ayélé
Rébecca Atohoun
Uchenna Columbus
Indi Casa Production · Clapstories Production
- Directed byIndi Casadei
- Director of photographyLoïc Morant
- EditingIndi Casadei & Loïc Morant
- Color gradingDavide Greco
- SFXLoïc Morant & Indi Casadei
- Main themeMichael Boga
- Kora music“Desert”, composed and performed by Lola Malaika
- ShakuhachiJustin Smith
- IllustrationsIndi Casadei
- MasteringCharles Darnaud
- Voice overIndi Casadei (with Brant Lauweryssen)
- Camera, BaliJakub Chlouba
- Extra scenes, GenevaEva Creative Media
- Drone, BeninZannou Osia
- Title graphic designJulien Gurtner
- PhotographyPhilippe Maulini
- DCPMikael Zwahlen
Festival & press