Feature film
Brightness
Yeelen
Souleymane Cissé · 1987
Synopsis
In an indeterminate time in Bambara country, Nianankoro, a young man gifted with powers, is hunted by his father Soma, a member of the Komo society, who uses his knowledge for his own profit and, warned in a vision that his son will cause his downfall, has resolved to kill him. With his mother's help, Nianankoro steals sacred fetishes and sets out to find his uncle Djigui; his father follows him, guided by a magic pestle. On the way, among the Fulani, he marries Attou.
Context
Co-produced by Mali, Burkina Faso, France and West Germany, with Renn Productions and West German television, the film, spoken in two languages of the country, was photographed by Jean-Noël Ferragut and Jean-Michel Humeau, with music by Salif Keita and Michel Portal. Presented in competition at Cannes in May 1987, it was released in France on 2 December 1987 and in the United States in April 1989; it has been available as video on demand in France since 2020.
Who it is for
A 105-minute feature film, in Bambara and Fula with subtitles, with an initiation story close to a tale.
Prizes and reception
Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987; more than 340,000 admissions in France, its author's greatest success.
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