''Buud Yam'' is a 1997 Burkinabé

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by

Gaston Kaboré Gaston Kaboré (born 1951) is a Burkinabé film director and an important figure in Burkina Faso's film industry. He has won awards for his films ''Wend Kuuni'' and ''Buud Yam''. Biography Kaboré was born in 1951 in Bobo-Dioulasso in Upper Vol ...

. It is the sequel to the film ''

Wend Kuuni ''Wend Kuuni'' (also known as ''God's Gift'') is a 1982 Burkina Faso, Burkinabé drama film directed by Gaston Kaboré. It was followed with the sequel ''Buud Yam'' (1997). Plot A village leader tells a crying mother to give up hope that her husba ...

''. As of 2001, it was the most popular

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n film ever in Burkina Faso. The title's meaning is unclear: ''buud'' can mean both "

ancestors An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

" and " descendants", while ''yam'' means "spirit" or "

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

." It has been translated as ''Soul of the Group''.

Plot

The film draws on the African oral tradition. Set in a nineteenth century village, it follows a group of characters from Kaboré's debut film ''

''. Wend Kuuni (

Serge Yanogo Serge may refer to: * Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric * Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme * Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) * Serge (post), a hi ...

) is a young man who is suspected of being responsible, through the use of

sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...

, for his adopted sister's ill health. To help his sister, and clear his name, he tries to find a healer who uses the legendary "lion's herbs". He also searches for his own roots.

Distribution and awards

In 1997, ''Buud Yam'' was shown at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

during

Directors Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

and had its

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

. It won the Etalon de Yennega (the Grand Prize) at the 15th

Ouagadougou Panafrican Film and Television Festival The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou or FESPACO) is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It ...

Cast

Colette Kaboré Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

as Lalle * Amssatou Maïga as Pughneere *

Sévérine Oueddouda Sévérine is a fictional character who appears in the 23rd ''James Bond'' film ''Skyfall'' (2012). Played by Bérénice Marlohe, Sévérine is a former sex slave who works as an accomplice of Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). She collaborates wi ...

as Komkeita * Boureima Ouedraogo as Razugu * Augustine Yameogo as Aunt *

as Wend Kuuni

References

External links

* * 1997 films Films directed by Gaston Kaboré Films set in the 19th century More-language films 1990s historical drama films Films set in pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa 1997 drama films Burkinabé drama films {{FESPACO Étalon de Yennenga, state=expanded