''Sira'' is a 2023 drama film written and directed by

Apolline Traoré Apolline Traoré (born 1976) is a Burkinabé filmmaker and producer. Biography She was born in 1976 in Ouagadougou. Her father's profession, a diplomat, led to her travelling the world. At the age of 17, her family moved to the United States ...

and starring Nafissatou Cissé, Mike Danon, Lazare Minoungou, Nathalie Vairac and Ruth Werner. The film depicts the story of young nomad named Sira, who after a brutal attack refuses to surrender to her fate without a fight and instead takes a stand against Islamist terror. It is a co-production between Burkina Faso, Senegal, France and Germany. It had its world premiere on 21 February 2023 at the

73rd Berlin International Film Festival The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since the 70th in 2020. The festival has added a new award for best te ...

, where it won the Panorama Audience Award for Best Feature Film. It was selected as the Burkinabé entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the

96th Academy Awards The 96th Academy Awards is an upcoming ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which will honor the best 2023 in film, films of 2023, and is expected to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Ange ...

. Burkina Faso submitted a film for the first time since 1989. On December 7, it appeared in the eligible list for consideration for the 2024 Oscars, but, it didn't make it to the shortlist.

Synopsis

The film set in the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

tells the story of a young Fulani girl, Sira, travelling to meet her groom, Jean-Sidi. Suddenly she and her family are attacked by Islamist terrorists. All the men are shot and the leader of the gang, Yéré, takes Sira and rapes her. Left for dead in the desert, Sira finds herself alone and takes refuge in a cave as she weaves her survival plan.

Cast

* Nafissatou Cissé as Sira * Mike Danon as Moustapha * Lazare Minoungou as Yere * Nathalie Vairac as Aissatou * Ruth Werner as Kemi * Abdramane Barry as Jean Sidi * Ildevert Meda as Karim * Oumou Ba as Djamila * Seydou Diallo as Tidiane * Moïse Tiemtore as Faysal

Production

The film received grant from World Cinema Fund (WCF Africa Program) of €39,000 in November 2021. The lead actor, Nafissatou Cissé was selected out of more than 1,000 girls, who were auditioned. It was filmed in

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

, Northwest Africa.

Release

''Sira'' had its premiere on 21 February 2023, as part of the

, in Panorama. It is also invited at the 2023 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, in competition held from 25 February 2023 to 4 March. It opened the 44th Durban International Film Festival on 20 July 2023. It was selected at the

54th International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

competing for ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal, and was first screened on 23 November 2023. It was showcased at the

39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival The 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, is the 2024 edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which took place from February 7 to February 17, 2024, at Santa Barbara, California, United States. In November and Decemb ...

in 'Non Premiere Feature Films' section in February 2024. On 14 February 2023, it was reported that Paris-based sales company Wide has acquired worldwide rights of the film. It will compete in the International Competition at 39th

Mons International Film Festival The Mons International Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'amour de Mons, FIFA) is an annual film festival held in Mons, Belgium. It was launched in 1984 by Elio Di Rupo Elio Di Rupo (; born 18 July 1951) is a Belgian politi ...

held from 8 to 16 March 2024.

Reception

Vladan Petkovic reviewing for

Cineuropa The MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe or simply Creative Europe MEDIA (formerly The MEDIA Programme of the European Union) is designed to support the European film and audiovisual industries. Budget The goal of programmers is to increase the ...

praised Nafissatou Cissé writing, "It is Cissé who grabs the audience with her all-out performance, making the film more poignant than a simple rape-revenge set-up." Petkovic appreciated the director

and Cinematographer Nicolas Berteyac's "complex choreography of numerous characters, animals and vehicles that populate the wide shots". He praised editor Sylvie Gadmer, who he opined, "deftly combines them hotswith intense close-ups," and composer Cyril Morin, for "mostly well-distributed score". For the film Petkovic opined,"Traoré has devised the story in a way that is both clever and honest", which is set in an exotic location "with a fierce African woman as a protagonist who fights back against all odds". He added, all that makes it a "rare African audience-friendly film to break out internationally."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{IMDb title
''Sira''
at Berlinale

at Crew United 2023 films 2023 drama films French drama films 2020s French-language films Fula-language films 2020s German films 2020s French films Burkinabé drama films Senegalese drama films Films set in Africa German drama films Films shot in Mauritania Fiction about Islamic terrorism Films about terrorism in Africa