Moolaade Movie Review 2004

Eighty-one-year-old Senegalese filmmaker/activist Sembene focuses on the practice of female genital mutilation that still occurs in a number of African countries. In a small village, Colle (Coulibaly), the fearless second wife of a village elder, refuses to allow her daughter Amasatou (Traore) to undergo the purification ceremony that has caused her own lifelong pain. She then becomes the protector of four young girls, also fleeing the ceremony, who seek sanctuary. To defend the girls, Colle invokes the traditional protective spirit of the title so the girls cannot be removed from her care and discovers her resistance is considered a threat to the social order of village life. Bambara and French with subtitles.

Distribution

Not Yet Released

Running time 124 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Africa, Women

Screenplay

Ousmane Sembene

Cast

Fatoumata Coulibaly, Malmouna Helene Diarra, Salimata Traore, Dominique T. Zeida, Mah Compaore, Aminata Dao

Cinematography

Dominique Gentil

Director

Ousmane Sembene

Music

Boncana Maiga

Other

Abdelatif Raiss

Producer

Filmi Doomirew