From heartache to Hollywood: The Oscar-nominated story of a migrant

The African migrant who inspired an Oscar-nominated film is focusing on others, even as the Hollywood spotlight falls squarely on him. 

Mamadou Kouassi endured an arduous journey from Ivory Coast to the Italian island of Lampedusa. His story is the basis for Io Capitano, a movie nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.  

Kouassi says the Oscar nomination provides important recognition for those who died while trying to reach Europe. Their suffering still haunts him to this day. 

‌"I remember the same scene, not being able to save a woman who was dying in front of me," says Kouassi. "There are some things that you can never, ever forget. So, it was hard.”

‌Io Capitano documents his three-year odyssey as a teenager through the African desert, an illegal Libyan prison and the Mediterranean Sea.

‌Director Matteo Garrone says he wanted to "turn the camera around" and put a human face to migration. Kouassi is hoping the film will also challenge people's mindsets. 

‌"People only see them arriving with the boat but not the journey and what we face in the desert, in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the prisons. So, it was important to use this as an instrument to explain to the whole world," says Kouassi.

‌The father-of-two now works as a cultural mediator at the Caserta Refugee and Migrant Movement, where he's become a local hero.

‌"To be an icon means to be an example... after all the fighting, after all the difficulties that we faced, there is hope.”

Italy registered a record number of arrivals from the Mediterranean in 2023. The European Union has responded with a series of reforms designed to prevent illegal migration. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also stepped in, securing a controversial agreement with Albania that allows officials to process migrants offshore.

Kouassi says governments are not listening - but speaking before the Hollywood ceremony, he hoped that winning an Oscar might change that.

‌"It would be one of the greatest achievements and it would also give a view to the European Union to change the policy of migration, I'm sure.”‌

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday