Cinema
Toula
Moustapha Alassane · 1973
Synopsis
Drought has doomed the country: the wells are empty, men and animals have lost all hope. Summoned by the king, a soothsayer announces the return of abundance, but also sees blood: the spirit of the waters demands the sacrifice of Toula, the king's niece. Neither the king nor the girl's fiancé can resign themselves to it, and the young man sets off to fetch water from afar to save her. A prologue and an epilogue set in the present day frame the legend.
Context
The film adapts a tale by Boubou Hama about drought, who co-wrote the screenplay, and was co-directed with Anna Soehring. Shot with actors, among them Sotigui Kouyaté, who also composed its music, and Damouré Zika, it runs seventy-six minutes and approaches, by way of a traditional story, the drought then afflicting the Sahel. It was for a time banned in Niger. The production brought together French broadcasting and a bank of the country, and a restoration was made from the original negative.
Who it is for
A film in French lasting an hour and sixteen minutes; the legend is framed by scenes set in the present that shed light on its meaning.
Prizes and reception
Sidney Prize awarded in 1977 at the first American Black Film Festival.