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Portraits of contemporary African women from four West African nations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Benin.
Sarah Maldoror ou la nostalgie de l'utopie is a Togolese short documentary film directed by Anne-Laure Folly. It was released in 1999. The film is a tribute to Sarah Maldoror of Guadeloupe, who made the classic film Sambizanga (1972). The film documents the constant political struggle in all her work for liberty, her affirmation of her négritude to the world, and her campaign for recognition of black poets.
The film is a documentary about Angola. It tells of the heavy cost of war to women. After ten years of struggle for independence, the war in Angola had continued for another twenty years. The film explores the motives of the combatants, including Cuba and South Africa's apartheid government. In this film, Folly lets women tell their own stories. She shows the women from mid- or close-range, forcing the viewer to focus on their faces rather than their bodies or surroundings, and takes the time to let them say what they have to say, giving a unique women's perspective of the conflict. Folly participates in the film through her voice-over, giving a subjective element. She admits that she is not familiar with Angola, and certainly is not an authority. The film thus becomes a record of Folly's own journey of discovery.
'The Guardian of the Forces' introduces the viewer to the world of Sikavi, a ‘fetish priest’ in Lome, Togo. He controls the spirits of several voodoos or gods. The film explores the significance of sacrifice and possession in communicating with spirits of ancestors and voodoo deities. Tradition and modernity are contrasted in this colourful documentary, which provides insight into healing practices of life and death.
