Serge Bayala Movies
- 2005
Director/screenwriter S. Pierre Yameogo draws on the true story of one woman to craft this tale of a desperate mother and daughter at risk of succumbing to a sexist tradition based on localized superstition. A young village boy has died of meningitis, and Napoko Diarrha has been accused of eating his soul. Napoko's husband feels dishonored by the fact that his wife resisted the prospect of marrying off the couple's daughter, and he has struck back at her by spreading a vicious rumor that will almost certainly result in her death. Her fate in the hands of the village elders, Napoko flees to the nearby town of Ouagadougou before her trial can take place. But as Napoko's life force fades, her daughter grows stronger with each passing day. Later, the young girl sets out to Ouagadougou in search of her missing mother, and the pair attempts a daring escape from their male-dominated society. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blandine Yameogo, Celestin Zongo, (more)
- 2003
The fertile filmmaking community of Burkina Faso gives birth to another stark, social realist tale with this feature from director Pierre Yameogo. Me and My White Pal concerns the hand-to-mouth existence of Mamadi, an African student studying in France who becomes embroiled with violent gangsters when he intercepts a drug package and attempts to profit from it. While tending to cars in his menial parking-garage job, Mamadi discovers the stash, which his "white pal" persuades him to try to sell. Once he does, the twosome find themselves running all the way back to Burkina Faso to escape the dealers. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Serge Bayala, Pierre-Loup Rajot, (more)
