A hammock-swinging stranger crashes naptime to rewrite a boy's entire sense of self.
It is an ordinary afternoon for young Mabo Keïta, at home, in Burkina Faso (West Africa). While his parents are taking a nap, he reads a schoolbook on the front porch when a stranger - an elderly man carrying his own hammock - appears for an unexpected visit. It turns out that the old man is a griot, a West African musician/entertainer whose performances include tribal histories and genealogies. The position of a griot is a time-honored one and passed down from father to son for many generations.
Acting
Sotigui Kouyaté's griot radiates ancient authority in every gesture.
Direction
Dani Kouyaté weaves documentary-realism with mythic interruption.
Writing
Dialogue shifts between French school lessons and Bambara epic poetry.
Director
Dani Kouyaté
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sotigui Kouyaté was an actual griot from Guinea; his own son directed this film. The casting IS the theme.
Burkina Faso's government funded this as national cinema—imagine your tax dollars going to a film that questions your entire school system.
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