His name, Nantenaina Lova, means “hoped-for inheritance”. He was born into a modest family in Madagascar in 1977. He studied Social Sciences in Antananarivo, then Development and Humanitarian Management in France. After observing the perverse effects of a certain development ideology, he worked as a journalist in Madagascar and was introduced to audiovisual media at the Université de La Réunion before joining the Toulouse film school (ENSAV – France). He set up his own production company in Antananarivo, Endemika Films, in 2008, one of the only companies in Madagascar devoted entirely to cinema. With his camera, he tells the stories of those who resist a system, those whom we tend to denigrate and whom he considers to be real-life heroes. He makes a point of alternating humor and seriousness, in keeping with the Malagasy way of thinking: to express the absurd or even despair, the Malagasy say “mampihomehy”, “ça fait bien rire” (“it makes you laugh”). Laughing at injustice rather than crying, resisting rather than feeling sorry for oneself. His first feature film, Ady Gasy – The Malagasy Way (awarded at FIFAI in La Réunion, selected at Hot docs and IDFA) was released in cinemas in France in 2015. After “Etoile du matin – Morning Star” (international competition IDFA 2020, awarded at several festivals), Sitabaomba, Where zebus speak French is his third feature film (Leipziger Ring Award at DOK Leipzig 2023, Green Film Award at “Les Oeillades d’Albi” (France) and Luminous selection at IDFA (Amsterdam), one of the biggest documentary festivals. Since 2020 Papang films has been co-producing and distributing the films directed by Nantenaina LOVA, in La Réunion (France).