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Event Series Event Series: Dancing the Twist in Bamako

Dancing the Twist in Bamako

February 21 - March 31

ENCORE PRESENTATION

WINNER – PAFF EXECUTIVES’ AWARD: BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE

VIRTUAL SCREENING | BUY TICKETS

It’s 1962 and Mali has just gained its independence from France and established a socialist government. The youth of Bamako dance the twist to rock & roll music newly imported from the West and dream of political renewal. In this environment, a passionate and impetuous love affair evolves between two youths, Samba, an idealistic young socialist, and the spirited Lara who is running from an abusive arranged marriage. Through the filter of their affair, viewers witness the many tensions in the society at this little-known moment of social change: socialism and the introduction of communal farming (for village tax purposes) versus the powerful capitalist interests of the traders; women’s rights versus traditional arranged marriages where ‘rape does not exist within marriage’; the authority of the elders versus that of the new order. Uncoupled from Western ideas about the evils of Socialism, the film gives a voice to both sides: both systems are Western imports from a Malian point of view. The story was inspired by the photographs of 1960s Malian photographer Malick Sidibe and is nourished by the enthusiasm and naivety of youth set against the political realities of the time.

YEAR
2021
 
RUNTIME
129 minutes
 
LANGUAGE
French
 
COUNTRY
Senegal
DIRECTOR
Robert Guédiguian
 
SCREENWRITER
Robert Guédiguian, Gilles Taurand
 
PRODUCER
Angelo Barbagallo, Marc Bordure, Angèle Diabang Brener, Robert Guédiguian, Yanick Létourneau
 
CAST
Stéphane Bak, Alice Da Luz, Saabo Balde, Bakary Diombera, Diouc Koma
 
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Pierre Milon
 
EDITOR
Bernard Sasia
 
 

Details

Start:
February 21
End:
March 31
Series:
Event Category:
Event Tags:

Venue

Virtual