Yaaba

Yaaba

Film poster
Directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo
Produced by Arcadia Films, Les Films de l’avenir, Télévision suisse romande, Thelma Film AG
Written by Idrissa Ouedraogo
Screenplay by Idrissa Ouédraogo
Starring Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ouedraogo, Roukietou Barry, Adama Ouedraogo, Amadé Tour
Music by Francis Bebey
Cinematography Matthias Kälin
Edited by Loredana Cristelli
Distributed by New Yorker Films (U.S.)
Release dates
  • September 14, 1989 (1989-09-14) (TIFF)
Running time
 90 minutes
Country Burkina Faso
Switzerland
France
Language Mòoré
Box office $55,000

Yaaba is a 1989 Burkinabé drama film written, produced, and directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo. It won the Sakura Gold prize at the 1989 Tokyo Film Festival.[1] The film was selected as the Burkinabé entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 62nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[2]

The film was the subject of a short documentary Parlons Grand-mère, which was shot during the film's production by Djibril Diop Mambéty.

Plot

The film is set in a small African village. Bila (Noufou Ouédraogo) is a ten-year-old boy who makes friends with an old woman called Sana (Fatimata Sanga), who has been accused of witchcraft by her village, and has become a social outcast. Only Bila is respectful of her, and calls her "Yaaba" (Grandmother). When Bila's cousin, Nopoko (Roukietou Barry), falls ill, a medicine man insists that Sana has stolen the girl's soul. Sana undergoes a long and grueling journey to find a medicine to save Nopoko's life. Sana manages to save Nopoko's life, but is still treated as a witch. After Sana dies, the real reason why she is hated in the village is uncovered, but her love and wisdom she invested in Bila and Nopoko lives on.

Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Tokyo film festival gives big cash awards". chron.com. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
  2. ↑ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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