Diya – Blood Money
Chad, France, Germany, Côte d’Ivoire, 2025, 96 min
After a deadly accident, the life of Dane, a driver for a humanitarian NGO in N'Djamena, is turned upside down. Director Achille Ronaimou reflects on the common practice of blood money.
Synopsis
Dane, a driver for a humanitarian NGO in N'Djamena, leads a peaceful life with his young wife Delphine, who is expecting a child, until the day he hits Younous, a 9-year-old boy on his way home from school. He takes the boy to hospital and when he comes back the next day to check on him, he is told that the child is dead.
Younous' parents are demanding five million CFA francs for killing their son. This sum represents the Dia or blood money, otherwise they will take the life of a family member.
Upcoming
Locarno Filmfestival - Open Doors Screenings
12.08. and 13.08.
DIYA is part of the 22nd Festival des deutschen Films Ludwigshafen
26.08. / 20:30 / Zeltkino C
27.08. / 15:30 / Zeltkino B
29.08. / 14:00 / Freiluftkino
01.09. / 11:00 / Zeltkino B
06.09. / 14:00 / Freiluftkino
GERMAN THEATER RELEASE on November 26, 2026, distributed by Filmgalerie 451
DIYA is a co-production between Chad, France, Germany (Filmgalerie 451), and Ivory Coast, supported on the German side by the Berlinale World Cinema Fund. The film premiered in February 2025 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, at FESPACO 2025, Africa's largest and most important film festival. The film's lead actor was awarded Best Actor. (Meilleure interprétation masculine: Ferdinand Mbaïssané pour le rôle de Dane dans DIYA (95 min) d'Achille RONAIMOU (Chad).)
The North American premiere took take place in September 2025 at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival in the “Centerpiece” section.
DIYA was awarded the main prize at the International Competition of the Festival "Französische Filmtage Tübingen | Stuttgart" on November 5, 2025. The jury praised Achille Ronaimou as a strong new voice in Francophone cinema, who has created a visually impressive contribution with DIYA.
At the Augenblicke Afrika Festival in Hamburg, the audience voted for DIYA. Thank you for this wonderful award.
Awards and Festivals
- FESPACO Film Festival, Burkina Faso, 2025
- Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), 2025
- Französische Filmtage #42 Tübingen, Stuttgart, 2025
- Augen Blicke Afrika, 14. Afrikanisches Filmfestival Hamburg, 2025
- Afrikamera - Aktuelles Kino aus Afrika Berlin, 2025
- Africa Alive Festival, Frankfurt am Main, 2026
- Locarno Filmfestival - Open Doors Screenings, 2026
- Festival des deutschen Films Ludwigshafen, 2026
Additional Texts
Director’s Note
Dia, a practice that goes back to the time of the Old Testament, stems from the precept: "An eye for an eye for and a tooth for a tooth". It consists of compensating the victim's family for a crime, either by revenge or by agreement. It was intended to pacify society and to regulate, as a law, the violence in ancient societies. In Chad, where it is prevalent, it has become a source of social conflict, drama and business.
Dia is inspired by a true story, that of my cousin Ngaro: after having been duped and ruined in the name of the dia, he he took revenge by committing a heinous crime. He kept his crime of revenge a secret for a long time, but crushed by memory and remorse, he finally confided in me.
Credits
Directed and written by
Achille Ronaimou
With
Ferdinand Mbaïssané, Moussa Zakaria Ibet, Ramada Mahamat, Youssouf Djaoro, Solmem Marina Ndormadjingar, Haikal Zakaria, Guindja Mah, Prisca Marceleney, Abakar Ibrahim Mahamat, Moussa Ibrahim Mahamat, Brahim Baïlamdana
Cinematographer
Achille Ronaimou
Sound recording
Jean-Christophe Lion
Music
Afrotronix
Editor
Guillaume Talvas
Ausstattung
Cherif Michel Tadida
Kostüme
Falmata Oumar Lydie
Production Manager
Annabel Thomas
Producers
Issa Serge Coelo, Valéry du Peloux
Co-Producer
Frieder Schlaich, Prisca Marceleney & Jacques Trabi
Production
Sic Productions (TD), Artisans du Film (Paris)
Co-production
Filmgalerie 451 GmbH & Co. KG (Berlin), Babi Pictures (Abidjan)
Funded by
Fonds Image de la Francophonie
World Cinema Fund - an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes)
and the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office and with further support by the Goethe-Institut.
Fonds Jeune Création Francophone l’Union Européenne et le soutien de l’Organisation des Etats ACP
Avec le soutien de la Région Ile-De-France
Une coproduction Canal + International
Avec la participation de
Diya a participé aux Résidences d’écriture
Sud Ecriture • Atelier Grand Nord • Agence Film Réunion
Ouaga Film Lab • La Fabrique de L’Institut Français
Le Ministère du Développement Touristique, de la Culture et de l’Artisanat
Monsieur le Ministre Abakar Rozi Teguil, Abdoulaye Babalé
L’Onama – Télé-Tchad
Le Ministère de la Sécurité Publique et de l’Immigration
TV5 Monde
World Premiere
24.2.2025, FESPACO Film Festival, Burkina Faso
North Amerivan Premiere
September 2025, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
Distribution Details
Theatrical release: November 26, 2026, distributed by Filmgalerie 451.
Screening Format
DCP (2K, 25fps, 5.1)
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Language
French, Arabic
Subtitles
German, English
License Area
D, A, CH