Director: Simon Moutaïrou
On an eighteenth-century plantation, freedom isn't offered — it has to be seized against impossible odds. No Chains No Masters follows a father and daughter whose bond becomes the driving force behind a desperate bid to escape bondage.
What is No Chains No Masters about?
Massamba and his daughter Mati are enslaved on a plantation run by Eugène Larcenet, living under a system designed to crush any attempt at resistance. When the chance for escape finally appears, the two commit to a plan that demands they leave behind everything familiar and trust each other completely in unfamiliar, hostile territory. Their route forward is anything but safe: pursuers, harsh terrain, and the constant risk of betrayal shape every step they take. The film moves between the plantation they're fleeing and the wilderness they're fleeing through, contrasting the calculated cruelty of the system with the raw uncertainty of the journey itself. At its center is the relationship between father and daughter, tested by fear, exhaustion, and the weight of decisions that carry consequences for both of them. It's a story about what people are willing to risk once staying becomes unbearable and running is the only option left.
Cast & crew
Ibrahima Mbaye plays Massamba, carrying much of the film's emotional weight as a father determined to see his daughter reach freedom, while Anna Thiandoum plays Mati with a performance that matches his intensity scene for scene. Camille Cottin and Benoît Magimel round out the cast in key supporting roles that anchor the plantation's power structure. Writer-director Simon Moutaïrou, making his feature debut, grounds the film's historical setting in careful detail without losing sight of the intimate father-daughter story at its core.
Context & significance
Released in 2024, No Chains No Masters is a French production set against the history of transatlantic slavery, told from the perspective of those trying to escape rather than those enforcing the system. Its 6.3 IMDb rating reflects a well-received historical drama that avoids easy resolutions, opting instead for a grounded, tension-driven account of survival. The film adds to a growing body of work using the escape narrative to center the interior lives of enslaved characters rather than treating them as background to a larger historical event.
Where & how to watch
No Chains No Masters streams on K-Time with Persian dubbing, giving Farsi-speaking audiences full access to the dialogue without needing subtitles. Browsing the film's page requires no account, and starting the movie itself only takes a quick, free K-Time login — part of a platform built specifically around Farsi-language streaming for Persian-speaking viewers wherever they live.