When the excavator drives in and demolishes his recording studio on Pfingstweidstrasse in Zurich, Swiss hit producer, Dodo, decides to pack his equipment into a shipping container and travel the world with it. Four years later, the musician is chugging down the Rhine from Basel on a cargo ship, reaching South Africa, Ghana, and finally the Ivory Coast where he spent his childhood. On his journey, he wants to discover new music, write hits, and revisit his earliest memories in Yopougon that still shape him today: eating pineapples on the beach at Vridi, the mango tree in the garden, the unexpected return to Switzerland, his father's early death.
Dodo’s journey “back to the roots” unfolds differently than planned. Dreams burst, memories collide with the reality of the present, the container ship gets stuck halfway, and the project threatens to crash due to disagreements. Big J, Dodo’s companion and co-producer, finds himself wondering more than once: What are we actually doing here – and why?
Yopougon – Way Back Home
Alexis Amitirigala
Born in 1974 in London of Sri Lankan-Swiss ancestry. Worked as a freelance musician and producer of film soundtracks. Active as a commissioning editor for Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) and as a freelance filmmaker.
2016 JOJO MAYER – CHANGING TIME, Fernsehfilm
2017 PIERRE FAVRE – IN 80 JAHREN UM DIE WELT, Fernsehfilm
2018 SOUNDS OF HOME AND FREEDOM, Fernsehfilm
2019 LO & LEDUC – MIR CHÖME NUME SCHNÄU VERBY, Fernsehfilm
2020 DODO – DIE ODYSSEE, Fernsehfilm
2021 ZUKUNFTSMUSIK – MUSIKSCHAFFEN IM UMBRUCH, Fernsehfilm
2023 INGREDIENTS FOR DISASTER (Co-Regie), Dokumentarfilm
YOUPOUGON – WAY BACK HOME, Dokumentarfilm HOF 2024