Keita! Voice of the Griot

Keita! Voice of the Griot (Keita! L’Heritage Du Griot)

Burkina Faso,1995, 101’

Director:Dani Kouyaté

Cast:Sotigui Kouyaté, Seydou Boro, Hamed Dicko, Abdoulaye Komboudri

Language:French, Bambara

6 December, Thursday 17.00

8 December, Cumartesi* 15.00

“Everything started with a poor antelope” says Djéliba and one day he can no longer resist the call of destiny and sets out on a long journey to the city. He goes to a young boy called Mabo Keita to tell him the story of his ancestors and the origins of his name. Mabo is enthralled by this exotic legend full of characters with mysterious powers and begins ignoring his schoolwork which creates tension in the household: though Mabo’s father encourages his son to learn about his culture through oral history, his more forward-looking mother believes he should receive Westernized education. A film which exhibits cultural transformation and in which tradition clashes with civilization and Darwin’s theories taught at school clash with legends, Keita! brings together 13^th century poetry with the picture of present-day Burkina Faso and sincerely questions the modernization process and climates in post-colonial Africa as it enters the 21^st century.