Cirque de Guinée

20 years ago, few Guineans had ever heard the word 'circus'. But in 1998, a Franco-Guinean collaboration gave birth to the now-famous Cirque Baobab, the first of its kind in West Africa, which has gone on to perform all over the world. The government helped set up and fund an acrobatics academy, and today, Conakry is at the centre of a booming circus industry that has not only spread throughout the nation but is also rapidly growing in popularity through the rest of West Africa. Facilities are basic and funding is ever in short supply, but the country has no shortage of talent or enthusiasm. This project follows two days in the life of the Cirque Tinafan, a group comprised partly of disadvantaged youth who have used the power of the circus, with it's emphasis on community, discipline and trust, to turn their lives around.