Whisking Africa into France with vigorous song and dance, A Dessert for Constance balances the sweet and sour of the immigrant experience. Brightening the bitterness of poverty and colonial paternalism, the secret ingredient of this uplifting film is zingy joy in everything, especially friendship.

Named after the rallying cry of liberation fighters in Angola, Sarah Maldoror’s seminal debut delves into the bitter chasm between colonizers and the colonized. Favoring abstract montage and a thumping jazz score over stolid realism, this potent short foregrounds the mental effects of torture.