''Sia, The Dream of the Python'' (french: Sia, le rêve du python) is a
2001 film by
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 ...
-based filmmaker
Dani Kouyaté.
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 Yatabaree, 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
The Ghana Empire, also known as Wagadou ( ar, غانا) or Awkar, was a West African empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali that existed from c. 300 until 1100. The Empire was founded by the Soninke people, and ...
people of Western Africa, which was adapted into the play ''La légende du Wagudu vue par Sia Yatabéré'' by
Mauritanian writer Moussa Diagana. He also adapted the screenplay with filmmaker Dani Kouyaté.
[New York Times review (free subscriber access required)]
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''Sia, le rêve du python'' played at the 2001 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 ...
(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
''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 d ...
'', 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.”Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' 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''.Amazon.com page for DVD release
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References
External links
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{{FESPACO Jury Prize, state=expanded to show the template expanded, i.e., fully visibl
2001 films
Bambara-language films
African fantasy films
Burkinabé drama films