(English title: ''Keita! Voice of the Griot'') is a

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Burkinabé film directed by Dani Kouyaté and starring Sotigui Kouyaté. It is an adaptation of the first third of the 13th-century ''

Epic of Sundiata ''Sunjata'' (; Manding languages: ''Sònjàdà'', also referred to as ''Sundiata'' or ''Son-Jara''; ; ) is an epic poem of the Malinke people that tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita (died 1255), the founder of the Mali Empire. The ep ...

'', interspersed with scenes of a

griot A griot (; ; Manding languages, Manding: or (in N'Ko script, N'Ko: , or in French spelling); also spelt Djali; or / ; ) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. Griots are masters of communicatin ...

telling the story to a young child.

Plot

'' Keïta'' follows Mabo Keïta (Dicko), A 13-year-old boy who lives in a bourgeois family in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

and attends a good school. He meets Djeliba Kouyate, a

who wants to tell the young Keita the origin of his name and how it's related to

Sundiata Keita Sundiata Keita ( Mandinka, Malinke: ; 1217 – c. 1255, N'Ko spelling: ; also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, Nare Maghan and Sogo Sogo Simbon Salaba) was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He was als ...

, the founder of the

Mali Empire The Mali Empire (Manding languages, Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or ''Manden ...

. Kouyate begins his history with the myth of Mandé creation As all living beings gather on the newly formed Earth a person declares to the masses that he wants to be their king. The old griot tells how Keita’s family descended from the buffalo, the blackbirds still look at him, and how people have roots that lie at the bottom of the earth.

Cast

* Seydou Boro as Sundjata Keita * Hamed Dicko as Mabo Keïta * Abdoulaye Komboudri as Drissa Fafana * Sotigui Kouyaté as Djeliba Kouyate; Sotigui Kouyaté is the father of the director of the film, Dani Kouyaté * Claire Sanon as Sitan * Blandine Yaméogo as Sogolon

Production

Dani Kouyaté directed a number of short films before the release of ''Keïta'', his first full-length feature. The film's working title was ''Keita: From Mouth to Ear''. It was shot in the towns of

, Sindou, and Ouahabou. The assistant director was Alidou Badini.

Reception

''Keïta!'' received the Best First Film Prize from the

Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (, or FESPACO) is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It accepts for competition only films by African filmmakers and chief ...

(Fespaco) and was awarded the Junior Prize at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised the film, claiming it "succeeds admirably in keeping... history alive." In a 1995 interview, Kouyate reflected on the experience and commenting on traditional society, saying:

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keita! L'heritage Du Griot 1995 films 1995 drama films African fantasy films Burkinabe drama films 1990s French-language films