The White King

Djata visits his paternal grandparents for his birthday in Homeland, a dictatorship-controlled territory. His grandfather shows him a gun and pressures him to kill a cat, urging loyalty to the regime. Later the grandfather gives him a medal his father won for marksmanship.

Returning home, Djata's mother notices the medal and resents that he accepted a gift from the brainwashing grandparents. She tells him she won't let them indoctrinate him and sends him to his room.

The next day, the twins Romulus and Remus drive up, force candy on the kids, and take Djata's football. Djata and his friends are humiliated as the bullies demonstrate their power in Homeland. The loss foreshadows the bullying under the regime.

Djata sits in his hangout when an older boy slides a dead bird through the window with a note. The note, attached to the bird, is an invitation from the bullies to fight to reclaim the ball.

The next day, Djata manages to slip into the bullies' base to confront them. He is captured and pressured to admit the ball belongs to them, but he refuses. He breaks free and escapes with the football.

Djata's mother searches for help, first asking his father-in-law, who refuses. They then go to General Meade to plead for support. The General hints at doom for Djata's father and ultimately lets them go, warning them that their fate may mirror his.

Djata wanders through the General's building and encounters a female android playing chess, echoing the opening chess scene with his father. He then hears his mother fighting off advances by the General and they decide to leave.

Back at home, Djata's mother tries to sell whatever she can to raise money for his father's freedom. Djata urges her not to give up and to keep faith that a brighter life is possible.

Djata decides to go with his best friend to seek the treasure his father spoke of. They travel toward the cave, hoping to uncover a path to freedom.

Inside the cave they discover not treasure but scattered human skeletons and rubbish. The friend grows angry and pushes Djata into the pit, escalating the danger.

Pickaxe finds Djata in the pit and reveals that the government placed him there to guard their secrets. He asks what Djata is willing to sacrifice to find his father and shows him that he has no eyes before bidding him farewell.

As Djata leaves the forest, his grandfather panics and scolds him for worrying his mother. On the road, Colonel Fitz pulls them over and explains that his aim was to secure a better life for Djata's father and urges them to escape Homeland.

The Colonel returns Djata home to his mother but then collapses and dies from a heart attack, his gesture of aid cut short by tragedy.

At the funeral, Djata and his mother are refused seats at the front as Djata's father is brought in, shackled in chains. His grandmother looks shaken, and guards begin dragging him away while Djata's mother protests.

Djata's mother screams as guards drag his father away in a truck. Djata grabs a stick and chases the guards, but cannot catch them; his mother rides behind him on a bicycle as they pursue the truck, and the film ends with their ongoing pursuit.