Here are five of my favorite films from FESPACO 2015 – the biennial African Film Festival that takes place in Burkina Faso each year. Just came back from a week of viewing, and my heart is full.
1. Run – by Philippe LaCote (Ivory Coast)
An Ivorian man kills the prime minister and journeys backwards through his lives that brought him there.
Love for its surrealism, humor, and bravery.
2. C’est Eux Les Chiens (They are the Dogs)– by Hisham Lasri (Morocco)
A man released from prison after 20 years finds himself disoriented in the middle of the Arab Springs ,while all he really wants is to find his wife and child.
Love for its extraordinary camerawork and brilliantly told story
3. Timbuktu – by Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania)
Jihadists arrive in Northern Mali and cause a rupture the cannot heal.
Love for its the moments of beauty, cruelty, and humor that only Sissako can capture.
4. Des Etoiles (Under the Starry Sky) – by Dyana Gaye (Senegal)
Intersecting stories of African displacement in Senegal, Italy, and the USA.
Love for its beauty and immense suffering captured all at once.
5. Twaaga – by Cedric Ido (Burkina Faso)
At the dawn of Burkina Faso’s Marxist revolution, a young boy believes he has captured the power of a super hero.
Love for its sense of wonder and complexity . . . .