Rasmané, alias Bolo, 16, is a teenage gold miner at the Bantara site in Burkina Faso. Like all teenagers of his age, he is playful and dreamy.

His daily routine is organised around cooking, working in the gallery and going down to dig at a depth of more than 100 metres. His hope hangs on a rope that ascends indefinitely from
the depths. He hopes to find gold with which to build his future. But the long days of labour are fruitless. As time and his trials go by, his body changes, his features become more
pronounced. Inside, he gradually loses his childhood innocence.

When Rasmané finally obtains bags of ore, he transports them to the “yaar”, the “city” built from scratch on the edge of the mines. There he meets Missa and Dramane, 12 and 13 years old, two cart-driving friends in charge of transporting the ore from the gold miners. They accompany Rasmané through the various stages of the ore’s transformation, until the long-awaited moment when the gold is turned into money.

-- Dir. Boubacar Sangaré - 83min - 2023 - Burkina Faso, Benin, France --

"In 1996, after my CEP exam (primary school certificate), my brother and I went to work on a gold mining site. More than 22 years later, I returned to tell the story of Rasmané, Missa and Dra. Through the story of these three characters, A Golden Life paints a portrait of a whole generation of Burkinabe youth, who suddenly go from childhood to adulthood" - Boubacar Sangaré, read more on the blog: https://truestoryfilm.blog/2025/05/29/a-golden-life/

"The intimate photography...lends a dignity to those who are discarded by an exploitative industry....A particularly moving sequence follows the younger “cart boys” who dream of ordinary treats such as a new pair of jeans in between shifts. This collision of childlike yearning and hard labour is particularly heartbreaking" - Guardian

"a beautifully shot, evocatively structured dive into the world of Sub-Saharan Africa’s chaotic and risky gold mining business" - Modern Times Review

"it is about coming of age, and it is easy to see that Bolo and his friends are no different from their peers around the world, except that they have had to grow up much faster than many....More than 20 years ago, Sangaré was also a child gold miner in Bantara, so he is practically telling his own story as well." - Cineuropa

"The special thing about this documentary is the total lack of any sense of voyeurism. The camera seems to be completely absorbed within the society. It observes without judgment and pursues no effect." - Business Doc Europe

"Sangaré’s observational approach is captivating, visually enlightening, and filled with thoughtful and evocative compositions." - Film Fest Report

"The unhurried pace and beautifully restrained cinematography crafted a wonderful visual poetry that was perfectly complimented by the authenticity of the film participants." *Winner*, Docs Ireland, Maysles Brothers Competition for Observational Documentary

"“a highly cinematic documentary which introduces us to a great character, whom we follow during his days and see him converse with his colleagues about life and dreams. The director manages to get close to the protagonists with a gaze that never feels voyeuristic.” - *Special Mention*, Camden IFF

"Rasmané makes his way through a fierce adult world hoping to emancipate himself and find a better life—at the cost of his innocence." - Marrakech Int. Film Fest.