‘The Boy with White Skin’ Q&A with Flimmaker Simon Panay

In Africa, Albinism affects 1 in 5,000 to 15,000 people according to UNICEF researchers. In Senegal alone, an estimated 10,000 people live with the condition, which results in reduced amounts of melanin pigment in the skin, eyes, and hair and can contribute to harm not only from exposure to the sun but also in their communities just for being born. Because of this rare condition, superstitions and myths have permeated certain African countries, both positive and negative. 

French director Simon Panay tackles the complex duality of West African mythos in his latest short film, The Boy with White Skin. Leaning into the superstition that someone with albinism can bring wealth to those in need, Panay’s story follows a young boy with albinism (Boubacar Dembèlè), whose voice is believed to hold special powers that can protect impoverished miners risking their lives for gold. In addition to landing a spot on the 2026 Oscars shortlist, the film also won Best Film at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

Here, Panay talks to Deadline about the inspiration and creative challenges behind his short film. 

DEADLINE: Where did this idea to mix West African mysticism with reality come from?

SIMON PANAY: I worked on this topic of artisanal gold mining in West Africa for 11 years now and made a few documentaries. So, it’s a world that I am very grounded in. In a documentary, you show the world as it is, but the more I delved into the [culture], the more I realized it was a place of legends and mythology. So, I wanted to find a way to blend these elements. I learned and witnessed that [miners] will use albino kids and bring them down in underground galleries, [meaning tunnels, mines], and ask them to sing because they believe that the gold is alive like a beast that you need to hunt and chase before you can claim it. 

It’s a dangerous job because just by making the underground galleries, they can collapse on you, or you can just go in one and it will slowly kill you before you know it. There’s a [twisted] pleasure in this kind of word. They see work as some kind of devil. And if you make money out of this gold, which is rare, then the money is cursed, and you will do nothing good with it. It’s like stories in the early 1800s in the U.S., where people left everything behind, like their land, or traveled from the U.K. or whatever to try their luck during the U.S. Gold Rush. All those people left everything behind, and a lot of them got lost trying to chase some fortune. But, of course, like those miners, some people did get rich, but usually it wasn’t the miners themselves – not really. A company usually exploited them. There are many similarities throughout history about the relationship between humans and the pursuit of gold. 

DEADLINE: How did you find your lead child actor, Boubacar Dembèlè?

PANAY: We got lucky because it was a traditional casting with a casting director, Iman Djionne, in Dakar, Senegal – she’s very talented. She works with the National Association of Albinism in Senegal (ANAS), and they work on a daily basis to help families with albino kids [and other people who have the condition]. The association helped bring us kids in the age range we were looking for, but then there was an issue we did not anticipate. We were in the middle of a presidential campaign during the casting period, and there was a belief that [emerged] that I didn’t know, but people thought that during this presidential campaign that the candidate who sacrificed the most albino people would likely win. Regardless of whether that belief is true or not, the fact that it was even said caused people to be very protective of their kids because there was the possibility of danger. Even Iman couldn’t understand this [horrible belief]. So, because we were strangers interested in kids with the condition at the time, it was very difficult for us to find [the right fit]. We ended up with three, and none of them had acting experience. And in those three, we got Boubacar. The other two were older, and Boubacar was in the age range we wanted. 

We got really lucky because he was great and wanted to learn and practice. He did his best to improve [his skills] and understand the film and his character and he was absolutely adorable. 

DEADLINE: It seems there’s a very complex cultural relationship with albinism. Can you elaborate on the importance of them in your film? 

PANAY: I wanted to show what I witnessed at this gold mine in Burkina Faso: albino kids being brought into underground galleries and asked to sing. There’s a lot of beliefs about people with albinism on the African continent, and it changes from country to country, and it’s different – most of the beliefs are negative though. There are beliefs that an albino kid, when born into the community, can bring bad luck or they might [possess dark magic]. However, in the artisanal gold mining industry, it’s entirely different. People with albinism are seen as Gods almost because the miners believe that their songs attract gold, which will then make them rich, and then with that money they can escape. So, it’s quite fascinating, and people’s perceptions of people with albinism are changing. For example, in Dakar, while not perfect, Boubacar lives a normal life. He goes to school, he does activities, and no one really bothers him. He’s different, but like every different kid in school, he has a universal experience. It’s a very tiny struggle compared to the stories you can hear. In some countries, people with albinism are killed and sold for upwards of $80,000 or sold for body parts. It’s horrible. Perception has changed, but the sentiment against them has not disappeared. 

DEADLINE: I was really impressed by the cave scenes. The sound design is realistic, and the dirt and dust look so real. How did you pull that off? 

PANAY: When I was making my documentaries, I filmed in real underground galleries. But in fiction, there’s a crew to think about and actors. It was a challenge, and we asked ourselves if we should shoot it in a studio or on location. Our executive producers in Senegal found a cave on Gorée Island, a famous site known as one of the last places where slaves were held before being sent to the New World. The cave we found was not underground but [front-facing] the sea. So, we used that cave to rebuild a set that looked pretty much how it looks underground. The crew did a fantastic job [using] materials I had from my documentaries, where I filmed for months and constructed the set to look as close as possible to how it is in real life. 

We had to have a lot of dust floating around on set because in real underground galleries, they use [jackhammers] to work, so we wanted to recreate this atmosphere. We brought in fake dust from France, especially made for cinema; it’s been treated, and you can breathe it in without worrying about danger. 

DEADLINE: What does being on the Oscars shortlist mean to you? 

PANAY: The film has traveled really well in festivals this year and won great awards. We are so happy with the life of the film thus far, and we were really preparing to just let the film go, finish its life on the festival circuit and move on. Then it got the shortlist at the César Awards and the Oscars, so now it’s got a new adventure to go on. This is great because it sheds more light on the work we’ve done, and we’re trying to enjoy it as much as possible since there are still a few more steps before trying to land an actual nomination. But I am super proud, and this is an incredible position to be in, regardless, and it’s incredible for any short film to be recognized in this way.

[This interview has been edited for length and clarity]