Caught in the stranglehold of debt and structural adjustment, Africa is fighting for its survival. In the face of disaster, representatives of African society bring an action against international financial institutions. The trial takes place in Bamako, in the yard of a house, among its inhabitants.
Direction
Sissako collapses global politics into intimate domestic space.
Writing
The trial transcripts burn with controlled, devastating precision.
Cinematography
Dust, color, and courtyard light become silent witnesses.
Director
Abderrahmane Sissako
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sissako filmed in his own father's courtyard in Bamako, using neighbors as extras. The trial's witnesses include actual farmers and civil servants, not professional actors.
Released when Mali was itself struggling with World Bank structural adjustment programs, the film premiered at Cannes 2006—a Western institution judging a film about Western institutions judging Africa.
ML
