Kino immer anders
Rural Burkina Faso. After a two-year journey, Saga smiles, looking down on his village, and blows a horn to signal his return. However, his arrival turns bittersweet as he discovers that his former fiancée, Nogma, was forcibly married to Saga’s own father during his absence. Saga and Nogma, still in love, begin an incestuous affair, which is quickly uncovered. Saga’s father decrees that he must die for dishonouring the family.
Tilaï‘s goal, despite being set in an unspecified precolonial time period, is to provoke modern audiences and question their relationship to the traditions which they take for granted. Ouédraogo masterfully uses several devices to make this critique immediately relatable; he opts for a filming approach influenced by Neorealism, works with non-professional actors, including multiple members of his direct family, and scatters destructive elements of the modern world, such as rifles, in an ancient setting. While inevitably reminiscent of Greek tragedies in its exploration of the schism between individuality and family, tradition, and honour, Tilaï’s brilliance is carried by an execution full of humour, cheekiness, and admiration of landscapes and music, resulting in a truly unique work.
Matis Brassard-Verrier
Content notes: sexual assault, suicide
Introduction shorts: We will start the screening with Les parias du cinéma from Idrissa Ouédraogo, 1997 (6 min)
