Discoveries from Côte d’Ivoire World Cinema

Orphaned by his mother, a teenage young artist wanders the streets of a suburb of Abidjan until the day he finds traces of his father whom he had lost all hope of finding.

Armel, Ahmed, Antoine, Ezechiel, Rougeot and Issa are motorcycle cabs at the Ahougnansou train station. Criticized and marginalized, they show organization and solidarity, determined to make their dreams come true.

The war has been declared between Good and Evil. Who will prevail: darkness or light?

An Ivorian father and his daughter set out to continue the book he never finished about a war he experienced as a child. With children in his village today, three generations create timelines, dreams, and memories.

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument. Balafon makers are all musicians, but a balafon player isn't necessarily an instrument maker. The film shows in detail the manufacture of this musical instrument, an indispensable element in the life of the Senufo people. Each step is shown, from the initial prayer to the genies of the balafon before felling a tree, through the cutting and tuning of the keys and the resonators, to the fixing of the buzzing membranes, which give this instrument its very characteristic timbre. Nanga, the balafon maker, talks about his work and discusses different aspects with friends during a meal.

The Kotedba dance company from the impoverished Treichville section of Abidjan wins an invitation to Paris to perform at the Beaubourg Center in an international competition. The group tries desperately to raise money for the trip, but the lead dancer is held hostage by her wealthy family who objects to her participation in the troupe. The film shows the lively street life of Abidjan and the hopeful anticipation of the dance group to make their dream of a lifetime come true.

In Boutelfil, on the edge of the Chadian desert, a community gather to discuss the recent drought. For the first time in 30 years, they decide to organise ‘Amchilini’, a tradition that obliges unmarried women in the community to choose husbands in the belief that it will ward off misfortunes.

Dago inherits a trunk that contains the work of a lifetime, that of Paul Kodjo, the most significant photographer of the time of the newly independent Côte d'Ivoire. It is the beginning of an exciting story that will link the lives of these two people who have in common not only a love for photography but also the fragility of an artist's life. Je reste photographe follows Ananias through his encounters and his travels as he throws himself body and soul into a long work of research, reconditioning and conservation of the negatives of Paul Kodjo and thus lifts the veil on the tumultuous journey of this last.

The scene is set in Southern Burkina Faso, and also in different parts of the Ivory Coast. Five women are shown with their daily burdens and one can easily guess how heavy the burdens are. All five represent the African woman collapsing under Africa’s weight. This film could also bear the title " The Cry": The distress cry of women who are legion, and whose cause the author, thanks to the magic of cinema, wants to defend, even with the most cold-hearted. When he decided to show five women’s every-day lives, Mr Idriss Diabete, who promised to tell the truth, nothing but the truth, had no idea of the danger threatening him. Is with women temptation always present ? He gave in to it and has eventually offered us beauty.

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument. Returning to Senufo country 40 years after his first encounter with balafon music in 1958, ethnomusicologist Hugo Zemp recalls memories of this and subsequent visits in the early 60s, before participating in a musical event of startling impact. Six orchestras, playing simultaneously but independently, circle with the dancers around the deceased person, who is swathed in fabric by the men before being buried.

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument. This film shows balafon orchestras playing in five villages during the two principal days of funeral festivities, celebrations that include the most important rites, ceremonies and rejoicings in the life of the Senufo. During dialogues with Sikaman, a young musician who acted as research assistant for this film series, the master balafonist Nahoua gives the key to understanding how this marvelous music comes into being, and what it means.