Sleeping Sickness

The action centers on a sleeping sickness aid project in Cameroon, where a small clinic sits amid riverine jungle life. Local communities are wary of outsiders and the influx of European funding, creating friction around care, money, and authority. The film juxtaposes the clinic’s medical duties with the edge of the surrounding wilderness, culminating in a mysterious river incident with a hippo.

🌍 Aid & Ethics

The story probes the moral ambiguity of international aid: generous European funds collide with local needs and power dynamics, shaping both medical work and personal choices. It questions who benefits from aid and how oversight can shape care on the ground. The tensions between funding agencies, local communities, and clinic staff drive much of the drama.

🔎 Secrets & Morality

Personal loyalties and professional duties collide when Velten’s affair with a patient yields a child, testing boundaries of doctor-patient trust and the ethics of secrecy. The pregnancy and birth become literal manifestations of the personal costs of work abroad. The inspector's presence further complicates these relationships, exposing secrets that may undermine trust.

🦛 Mystery & Metamorphosis

The film lingers on uncertainty, with Velten’s fate left unresolved as the jungle river and a rare hippo sighting underscore themes of change, transformation, and the unknown. The metamorphosis metaphor hints at shifting borders between professional duty and personal life. The final imagery suggests that some truths may be beyond resolve.