Celebrating African resistance to European conquest, this historical drama captures the indomitable strength of a legendary queen.
Adapted from Nigerien author Abdoulaye Mamani’s book, Sarraounia is based on the life of the powerful Azna queen Sarraounia Mangou and her resistance to the French colonial invasion of West Africa. In 1899, European colonizers were intent on ransacking the African continent for land and resources. Facing this aggressive plundering and violence, many Africans developed powerful resistance movements. Sarraounia follows the legendary queen who successfully resisted the incursion of the infamous and bloodthirsty Voulet-Chanoine French military expedition.
Med Hondo’s epic was almost left unfinished due to censorship from the French Ministry of Culture. The work was completed in large part with the assistance of Thomas Sankara, then president of Burkina Faso, who allowed Hondo to shoot the film in the country and put actors, technicians, and the Burkinabe army at his disposal. In Dioula, Fula, and French with English subtitles. (120 mins., DCP)
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Sarraouina, courtesy of Harvard Film Archive.
