Ivory Coast and France / 1988 / 89mins / Drama / French

Best known as black Africa's biggest star, Sijiri Bakaba turns director with the same style and freshness characterizing his work in front of the camera. His portrait of the Ivory Coast capital where money is king (referred to as an imaginary "Kata-Kata," but obviously meant to be Abidjan) is devastating, while the Western-style script and fast-moving professional cinematography grabs your attention. When Kadjo comes home after two years in France, he falls in with some tough guys and plunges into the bright cityscape of nightclubs, girls, and easy cash. Offbeat and amusing, Lords boasts some very good performances, not least from the director himself as the drunken, obscene "President," a your-de-force of abject degradation. – Deborah Young, Variety.

Sidiki Bakaba

Sidiki Bakaba, also known as Sijiri Bakaba, (born in Abengourou, Côte d'Ivoire, in 1949) is an actor, a scenario writer and a director from Côte d'Ivoire. He lives and works in Abidjan. After studying at the National School of Drama of Abidjan, he conducted training at the Living Theatre and with Grotowski. In 2000, he became the director of the Palace of Culture of Abidjan (Palais de la Culture d'Abidjan) located at Treichville. He also founded the Actor's Studio (an actor training school in the Palace of Culture). Along with a significant acting career, he produced fiction films, documentaries such as Les Guérisseurs (1988) which won the award for best music at the Francophone Film Festival, as well as the Voice of Hope at FESPACO, Ouagadougou in 1989. His filmography includes Le Nord est tombé sur la tête (1995-1998) for TV5, La Parole (1992), L'Anniversaire de Daymio (1992) and documentaries such as Los Palenqueros du Pacifique colombien: cinq siècles de solitude in 2000 and La victoire aux mains nues in 2005. Learn More