Baara (Work)
Sun 26 Oct at 1.00pm
Souleymane Cissé | Mali 1978 | 1h30m | 35mm | Bambara with English subtitles | 15
In this early work, Cissé focuses on a young innocent who has
left the countryside for the city and become caught in the middle of social
conflict. Befriended by the manager of a textile factory, he watches
as his mentor is caught between the demands of a cruel owner and the
needs of the much-abused workers he oversees.
Having spent years
studying Marxist ideology in Moscow, Cissé was the first African
director to directly confront and criticise the condition of workers
in the city. Yet the social constructs and characters he develops are
presented with a clarity unencumbered by the typical moralising of
socialist films.
This screening is part of a retrospective of the work
of Malian director Souleymane Cissé. The filmmaker will be in
attendance to talk to the audience after the screening.