Ouaga-Saga is a 2004

2004 in film

The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...

 comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 by Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...

-based filmmaker Dani Kouyaté

Dani Kouyaté

Dani Kouyaté is a film director and griot from Burkina Faso, which BBC describes as "Africa's most important film-making country".-Biography:...

. This film was one of the two to three a year that the Burkina Faso government produces. Its plot revolves around ten children striving to reach their goal in life.

Cast

• Amidou Bonsa ... Bourémiah
• Sébastien Belém ... Bouba
• Aguibou Sanou ... Moussa
• Tom Ouedraogo ... Kadou
• José Sorgho ... Cyrille
• Yacouba Dembélé ... Le Shérif
• Gérôme Kaboré ... Pelé
• Delphine Ouattara ... Mama
• Yasminh Sidibé ... Faustine
• Patricia M'Baidélé ... Awa

Plot

Each one of the ten children has a goal, although their poverty is in the way of them realising their dreams. In order to make some money, if dishonestly, they steal a bicycle from a wealthy woman and sell it. They divide the money amongst themselves at their compound where they live with Bourémah, an older friend.

Shortly thereafter, a neighbour becomes suspicious of the friends and begins to eavesdrop. The children, discovering this, malign him so horribly that he notifies the police. Bourémah realises that the police will find the stolen money if they search the compound, so he places it in a bag and leaves. His friends thinks he is stealing this from them instead of trying to help.

Meanwhile, Bourémah leaves for another town and stakes out in a hotel. He decides to play the lottery with what money he has left. Winning the jackpot, he comes back to Ouaga to help his friends fulfil their goals.

Production

This film was one of the two to three a year that the Burkina Faso government produces. It cost an estimated US$1.2 million. Dani Kouyaté

Dani Kouyaté

Dani Kouyaté is a film director and griot from Burkina Faso, which BBC describes as "Africa's most important film-making country".-Biography:...

, the director, had five weeks to film this, though it took longer to complete.

Release

Ouaga premiered at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou

Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou

The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou is the largest African film festival, held biennially in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The festival is the biggest regular cultural event on the African continent and it mostly focuses on the African film and African filmmakers...

 in 2005. The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

praised it, calling it "the perfect medicine in today's hectic life" due to its offering "the viewer many light hearted moments."