Cinema
Gossi
Gatta Abdourahamane · 1979
Synopsis
A young girl goes through the gossi, the initiation that precedes marriage. The purification ceremonies, very ancient, must be observed in the prescribed order: without them, the future couple is believed unable to have descendants.
Context
The film carries as a subtitle a mention of Sohanthie initiation, and came out of the country's public broadcaster. It appeared at the end of a decade that Jean Rouch had marked locally: arriving in Niamey in 1941 as an engineer of the Ponts et Chaussées, he stayed on after independence, trained a generation of technicians and directors there, and established the documentary of custom as an ordinary form of Nigerien cinema. The subject, a series of obligatory gestures performed in a fixed order, belongs fully to this manner.
Who it is for
The film can no longer be seen: no accessible copy is reported, and it is known only from a catalogue entry and festival awards lists. Nothing gives its running time or its language.
Prizes and reception
Golden Camera at the Ouagadougou festival in 1979 according to most sources; others place it in 1981 or 1983.