At 26, Senegalese director Awa Diédhiou has created a deeply personal film, choosing to tell the story of disability from the inside. She shines a light on women with disabilities, often rendered invisible, and offers a different way of seeing them, far removed from stereotypes and reductive representations.

Born with cerebral palsy, she grew up in an environment where difference is often misunderstood. From a very young age, she says she had to fight not only to move forward, but above all to fully exist. "It was a way of showing that I am capable of doing something," she confides, moved, after the screening of her film, which was met with enthusiastic applause from the audience.

For Awa Diédhiou, cinema becomes a space for expression and reconstruction, a place where she transforms her lived experience into a collective narrative. Yet she acknowledges a complex relationship with the image: "To be honest, I hate seeing myself on screen and I even hate talking about myself. But I tell myself that it has to be done, otherwise it doesn't make sense," she explains.

In a video broadcast by BBC News Africa, the filmmaker is seen receiving a certificate of participation in a UNESCO-supported initiative dedicated to African women in tech and artificial intelligence. It's a moving moment that recognizes her commitment. Beyond her personal journey, she primarily seeks to change perceptions of disability and to bring to light realities that are still too rarely discussed.