African Art in Performance: The Winiama Masks of the Village of Ouri, Burkina Faso(2006)

Ouaga Girls(fr)

A group of young women from Ouagadougou study at a girl school to become auto mechanics. The classmates become their port of safety, joy and sisterhood, all while they are going through the life changing transition into becoming adults in a country boiling with political changes. In a country with youth unemployment at 52 percent, jobs are a hot issue. The young girls at a mechanics school in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou are right in the middle of a crucial point in life when their dreams, hopes and courage are confronted with opinions, fears and society’s expectations of what a woman should be. Using interesting narrative solutions, Theresa Traore Dahlberg depicts their last school years and at the same time succeeds in showing the country’s violent past and present. This is a feature-film debut and coming-of-age film with much warmth, laughs, heartbreak and depth.

Tunisian Literature at the French National Library(fr)

Commemorating the 1986 Tunis-Paris exhibition Privileged Spaces and Times: French-Speaking Intellectual Production in Tunisia, Sarah Maldoror’s film points the way toward a more polyvocal understanding of the role of France’s National Library worldwide.

Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story(en)

The hilarious and bizarre story of Frank Sidebottom, the cult British comedian in a papier mâché head, and the secretive life of Chris Sievey, the artist trapped inside.

World Music Discoveries: Drums and Djembes of Burkina Faso(en)

In the African nation of Burkina Faso, drums such as the djembe are more than a simple instrument; they have long been used for communication and storytelling as well as musical accompaniment, as this fascinating documentary illustrates. Explore the role the drum has played in Burkina Faso's history, and how the current generations' quest to move away from tradition threatens this time-honored instrument of oral history.

Mask Art of Majuli(en)

This film creatively documents the art of Majuli masks, focusing on the only two families that keep the practice alive in Natun Chamaguri Satra, including multi-awared mask maker Dr. Hem Chandra Goswami.

Statues Also Die(fr)

Commissioned by the journal Présence Africaine, this short documentary examines how African art is devalued and alienated through colonial and museum contexts. Beginning with the question of why African works are confined to ethnographic displays while Greek or Egyptian art is celebrated, the film became a landmark of anti-colonial cinema and was banned in France for eight years.

Dahomey(fr)

Thousands of royal artifacts of Dahomey, a West African kingdom, were taken by French colonists in the 19th century for collection and display in Paris. Centuries later, a fraction returned to their home in modern-day Benin. This dramatized documentary follows the journey of 26 of the treasures as told by cultural art historians, embattled university students, and one of the repatriated statues himself.

Covidland: The Mask(en)

This second episode of the Covidland series, The Mask, uncovers the real science behind face coverings and exploreds the physical and mental health impacts of facemasks.

The Man of the Trees(fr)

The life story of Daniel Balimá, a horticulturist with a disability in Burkina Faso.

Tales of Sand and Snow(fr)

In a quest to rediscover the spiritual values of his own people, an African filmmaker from the Gourmantche tribe of Burkina Faso visits an Aboriginal band, the Atikamekw of northern Quebec. The resulting documentary is a dialogue between those who divine the future in the sand with those who use snow-encased sweat lodges to reconnect with the spiritual world.

Dr. Wise on Influenza(en)

A hard-hitting public information film made at the height of the Great Influenza 1918-18.

Sudario(xx)

Mémoire entre deux rives(fr)

This documentary follows the traces of the French colonization of the country Lobi. In this region of southwestern Burkina Faso, there is not a village, not a family that does not remember the suffering brought by the colonizers. Confronted with the archival documents of the administrators, the oral tradition, through its numerous testimonies, allows us to trace back nearly a century of history, from the arrival of the first Whites until today. This word also testifies to the individual, social or religious consequences of this often painful history. Between the past and the present, between the living words and the writings of the colonists, "Mémoire entre deux rives" is as much a quest for Lobi identity as a reflection on "civilising" France.

The Blackout Experiments(en)

You arrive at a secret location at a precise time, prompted by a mysterious email. You must follow the instructions closely. Once inside, disturbing visions begin. Unspeakable acts befall you—often frightening, sometimes sensual, possibly painful—each stimulating your deepest fears. And when it's over, you are changed, abandoned, and left wondering what is real and what was merely a game.

Restitution? Africa's Fight for Its Art(fr)

There is an interlinking history of violent European colonialism and the cultural legacy of ethnographic collections in institutions. This documentary traces the progression of colonial history from the Berlin Conference of 1884-85 to the systematic elimination of cultural traditions, religions and lifeways which would occur sporadically through genocides and warfare until the early 20th century throughout the African continent—surveying the inquiries and movements for historical justice, the relationships between European institutions and colonial violence and following enduring struggles against these organisations to regain what was taken.

Burkinabè Rising - The Art of Resistance in Burkina Faso(fr)

BURKINABÈ RISING: the art of resistnace in Burkina Faso showcases creative nonviolent resistance in Burkina Faso. A small, landlocked country in West Africa, Burkina Faso is home to a vibrant community of artists and engaged citizens, who provide an example of the type of political change that can be achieved when people come together. It is an inspiration, not only to the rest of Africa but also to the rest of the world. Through music, film, ecology, visual art, and architecture, the people featured in this film are carrying on the revolutionary spirit of Thomas Sankara. After assuming the presidency in 1983, Sankara was killed in a 1987 coup d'état led by his friend and close advisor Blaise Compaoré, who subsequently ruled the country as an autocrat for twenty-seven years. In October 2014, a massive popular insurrection led to his removal. Today, the spirit of resistance is mightier than ever in Burkina Faso.

Sahel: Pátria ou Morte(pt)

For decades, the countries of the African Sahel region have been targets of colonialism and exploitation by France and other Western powers. This documentary addresses the popular resistance and new paths of development forged by Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali after experiencing civil and military uprisings in recent years. The film explores the popular resistance that sustains the revolution in the three Sahel countries and was made after extensive coverage of the ongoing social dynamics and geopolitical disputes.

The last Balafon Master(de)

Sankara's Orphans(fr)

Thomas Sankara came to power in Burkina Faso in 1983, with the promise of a revolutionary government that would transform the West African country. To help build the revolution, he sent 600 children — many orphans from rural areas — to be educated in Cuba. But after Sankara’s assassination, the children were stranded. The last would only return to Burkina Faso in 2005. SANKARA’S ORPHANS tells their stories through interviews with some of the 600, along with archival footage of their lives on Cuba’s Isle of Youth — where both Sankara and Fidel Castro came to visit. Along with their education, the children worked in the fields and received weapons training. This, combined with their idealism, frightened the new Burkina Faso regime, which worried they might return and take up arms.

Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man(fr)

Thomas Sankara, former president of Burkina Faso, was known as "the African Che", and became famous in Africa due to his innovative ideas, his devastating humor, his spirit and his altruism. More than a classic biography, this film sheds light on the impact that this man and his politic made on Burkina Faso and Africa in general.