Fight against malaria

Documentary, 2025, 20 minutes

In rural northern Uganda, armed with petri dishes, paper cups, and a vacuum cleaner, leading malaria researcher Teun Bousema and PhD candidate Daniel Ayo set out with their team to unravel the mysterious life cycle of the malaria parasite. But this parasite doesn’t give up its secrets easily—it mutates, raising the alarming question: is this mutated parasite more infectious to mosquitoes?

Interplay offers an intimate and visually striking glimpse into the daily reality of tireless scientific fieldwork in the fight against a cunning and ever-changing adversary. The malaria mosquito is born “clean,” only becoming dangerous after an infected blood meal and a series of transformations that lead the parasite to the mosquito’s saliva—ready to infect a new human host. “It’s such a cunning creature,” says Bousema.

Interplay is part of Ammodo Docs, a series of short documentaries about original thinkers in art and science.

(partly in Dutch)

Credits:
Director & Writer – Sanne Rovers
Cinematography – Gregor Meerman
Editing – Riekje Ziengs
Micro Photography – Wim van Egmond
Sound Recording – Gideon Bijlsma
Sound Design – Tim van Peppen
Composer – Darius Timmer
Grading – Barend Onneweer
Producer – Ilja Roomans
Production – Ammodo / Docmakers