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Maral tanié (The Second Wife) 1994

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s first film The Second Wife follows a young girl who is facing an unwanted arranged marriage to an older man. Haroun paints a sympathetic picture of the young girl’s situation and highlights the hypocrisy of the men in her life - while older men ogle her hips, her father criticises her for being inappropriate and disrespectful for hoping to marry a boy from her village. A vivid and insightful portrait of village life in Chad.

Sotigui Kouyaté: A Modern Griot, 1996

Descended from a long line of griots—storytellers and musicians who hold a place of honour in West African society—Sotigui Kouyaté was one of the most renowned of these oral historians, acting in numerous films throughout his illustrious career (including Peter Brook’s epic The Mahabharata). In this affectionate portrait, Haroun follows Kouyaté on a journey from his adopted home in France to his birthplace in Mali, an emotional homecoming that reconnects the 20th-century griot with his lineage.’ BAM Cinémathèque

Ages 18+