Sia, le rêve du python
Encyclopedia
Sia, le rêve du python is a 2001
film by Burkina Faso
-based filmmaker Dani Kouyaté
.
writer Moussa Diagana. He also adapted the screenplay with filmmaker Dani Kouyaté.
Sia, le rêve du python played at the 2001 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou
(FESPACO), where it won the Special Jury Prize for a Feature Film.
In May 2002, the film had its U.S. theatrical premiere. Critical reaction was mostly positive. Dave Kehr, in the New York Times, praised Kouyate’s directing style as giving the film “a certain timeless quality,” though he noted its “measured pace and lack of dramatic inflection can also seem tedious.” Wilson Morales, writing for BlackFilm.com, praised the film’s technical aspects, stating that the film "is visually stunning, as its costumes and settings capture the essence of what Africa looked like in ancient times." Elizabeth Zimmer of the Village Voice praised the timeless nature of the film’s plot, observing that "the subtitled costume drama is set in a remote African empire before cell phones, guns, and the internal combustion engine, but the politics that thump through it are as timely as tomorrow."
Sia, le rêve du python was released in the U.S. on DVD in 2007 as a double-feature with another Burkinabé film, Tasuma, The Fighter.
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
film 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:...
.
Plot
Kaya Maghan, the despotic king of Wagadou, follows the instructions of his priest by ordering the religious sacrifice to the Python God of Sia Yatabene, the virgin daughter of a notable family. A gift of gold equivalent to Sia’s weight is given to her family as compensation for surrendering their daughter for the sacrifice. However, Sia runs away and finds shelter in the home of a mad prophet who has railed against the king. The king orders his top general to locate Sia, but the general is conflicted since Sia was engaged to marry his nephew, Mamadi, who is in battle on behalf of the kingdom. Mamadi returns and joins his uncle to do battle against the Python God.Production and release
The inspiration of Sia, le rêve du python is a seventh-century myth of the Wagadu people of Western Africa, which was adapted into the play La légende du Wagudu vue par Sia Yatabéré by MauritanianMauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
writer Moussa Diagana. He also adapted the screenplay with filmmaker Dani Kouyaté.
Sia, le rêve du python played at the 2001 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...
(FESPACO), where it won the Special Jury Prize for a Feature Film.
In May 2002, the film had its U.S. theatrical premiere. Critical reaction was mostly positive. Dave Kehr, in the New York Times, praised Kouyate’s directing style as giving the film “a certain timeless quality,” though he noted its “measured pace and lack of dramatic inflection can also seem tedious.” Wilson Morales, writing for BlackFilm.com, praised the film’s technical aspects, stating that the film "is visually stunning, as its costumes and settings capture the essence of what Africa looked like in ancient times." Elizabeth Zimmer of the Village Voice praised the timeless nature of the film’s plot, observing that "the subtitled costume drama is set in a remote African empire before cell phones, guns, and the internal combustion engine, but the politics that thump through it are as timely as tomorrow."
Sia, le rêve du python was released in the U.S. on DVD in 2007 as a double-feature with another Burkinabé film, Tasuma, The Fighter.