''Ouaga-Saga'' is a 2004

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

-based filmmaker

Dani Kouyaté Dani Kouyaté (born June 4, 1961) is a film director and griot from Burkina Faso, which the BBC describes as "Africa's most important film-making country". Biography Kouyaté was born in 1961 in Bobo-Dioulasso. He is the son of one of the first B ...

. 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$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1.2 million.

, 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 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 ...

in 2005. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

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

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0439746, Ouaga-Saga French comedy films Burkinabé comedy films 2000s French-language films 2004 films 2004 comedy films 2000s French films