‘My daughters are very different,” begins their dad, Ibrahima. “Marieme is very quiet, very reserved. Ndeye is very independent. She wants to be in charge of everything.” He smiles, watches his girls slurp ice-creams along the waterfront at Cardiff Bay, and crumbles the thin end of a cone to feed the pigeons while, around the back of their wheelchair, the girls’ hands meet – as they often do. “To have conjoined twins as a parent is to have something you didn’t expect,” says Ibrahima softly to camera. “I would not pretend that it is easy. It is not. But it’s a huge privilege. You feel lucky to witness this constant battle for life.” What a gentle and profoundly inclusive opening.
Marieme and Ndeye were born conjoined in Dakar, Senegal, just over seven years ago. Inseparable Sisters, by film-maker Nick Hartley, is an intimate, uplifting documentary and the culmination of BBC Wales Today anchor Lucy Owen following Marieme and Ndeye’s progress for several years. They are, literally, death defying.
