Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso / 2000 / 90mins / Drama / Bambara and Baule

In West Africa during the late 17th century, King Adanggaman leads a war against his neighboring tribes, ordering his soldiers to torch enemy villages, kill the elderly and capture the healthy tribesmen to sell to the European slave traders. When his village falls prey to one of Adanggaman's attacks, Ossei manages to escape, but his family is murdered except for his captured mother. Chasing after the soldiers in an effort to free her, Ossei is befriended by a fierce warrior named Naka.

Roger Gnoan M'Bala

Roger Gnoan M’Bala was born in Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast, in 1943. He studied in Sweden and at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma in Paris. In 1970 he directed Koundoum, his first black and white documentary on traditional dance, and two years later his film Amanié won several prizes, including the FIFEF. Since then, he has produced and directed feature films, notably the award-winning Ablakon. He later became known for his film Au nom du Christ, winning in 1993 a premio giovani at the Locarno International Film Festival and an Étalon de Yennenga at the FESPACO and Adanggaman, which won several awards including the Special Jury Award at Marrakech International Film Festival 2001. Learn More