Burkina Faso / 2003 / 49mins / Drama / Djoula

Orphaned and rejected by her village for being a dwarf, Kounandi falls in love with Karim, a kind-hearted man who aids her. However, Karim is already married, which causes quite a problem within the village itself.

Apolline Traoré

Apolline Traoré was born in 1976 in Burkina Faso. She studied film at Emerson College in Boston. Her first short film, The Price of Ignorance won the Prix du Jury at the Pan African Film Festival in Ouagadougou (FESPACO). She also wrote and directed a television series consisting of 20 episodes called Monia et Rama in 2002. In 2003, she directed Kounandi, which was selected for the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. She produced her own feature film, Sous la clarté de la lune, in 2004. She returned to Burkina Faso in 2005 and started working with pioneering Burkinabé director Idrissa Ouédraogo. In 2008, she directed a television series, Le testament. Her film Borders won three prizes at FESPACO 2017, including the Paul Robeson Prize for the Best Film by a Director from the African Diaspora. Learn More