Cinema
Sous le signe du vaudou
Pascal Abikanlou · 1974
Synopsis
A young man, Codjo, neglects the ritual offerings owed to the vodun deities and provokes their anger. His family pays the price: the house burns down and the harvests are destroyed. He leaves for the city to help his people, but gets caught up in drug addiction there. It is there that he meets a young girl who encourages him to return to the village.
Context
Co-written with Jean-Pierre Bastid and co-produced with the French Ministry of Cooperation, the film runs for 95 minutes and was the first African film edited by Andrée Davanture. It was first released under the title Sous le signe du vodoun, in the name of the Republic of Dahomey, was renamed in 1975 and came out in France in 1976. Its prints now seem to be lost: at a tribute held in 2017, the actor and poet Gratien Zossou, its lead performer, asked the government to recover this first feature film of the country.
Who it is for
For those interested in the beginnings of Beninese cinema and in the place of voodoo in African fiction of the seventies.
Prizes and reception
The country's first feature-length fiction film, it established the reputation of its author, a recognised pioneer of Beninese cinema.
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