About Bamako

Year Released:

2006

Genres:

Drama

Metadata:

Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako

Abderrahmane Sissako casts a wry eye on the politics of international debt in Bamako. African citizens in Mali’s capital put the World Bank and the IMF on trial in the courtyard of a typical home. Amidst the proceedings—accusations, testimonies, tired faces, tilted judicial wigs—daily life continues. A bar singer, Melé, fetches water in the courtyard, a wedding procession passes by, and a security guard’s gun goes missing. Politically astute, culturally rich, and funny, Sissako puts the macro and micro in the same frame and demands accountability. In multiple languages with English subtitles. (35mm presentation)

Director Abderrahmane Sissako is scheduled to be present.

This screening is sponsored by the College Arts and Humanities Institute, African Studies Program, the Black Film Center/ Archive, the Department of Comparative Literature, the Department of History, Film and Media Studies, The Media School, and the IU Cinema. Special thanks to Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Institut Français, Amélie Garin-Davet, and Marissa Moorman. Screenings are free, but ticketed.