Sakawa

There’s a treasure trove of information to be found in the poisonous e-waste in Ghana. It’s a relatively simple matter to open up hard drives and gain access to photos and the personal details of their former owners. Equipped with a name and address, almost anybody can be found online. A young mother looks in astonishment at an American street that she has conjured up on Google Maps in a matter of seconds—this is Ama, one of the internet con artists in this film.

Another, more seasoned scammer tries to teach her the craft, but she doesn’t appear to have much of a knack for it. He, on the other hand, knows how to use his fake account to drive men crazy: they fall for the photo of a buxom woman—and his high-pitched voice. Sakawa shows these fraudulent activities from the perspective of the Ghanaian perpetrators, raising questions that the film doesn’t need to ask explicitly. How much compassion can you expect from someone who had to buy €250 worth of fish for his boss every week, while he was only earning €12 a month himself?