France, Mali and Senegal / 2016 / 95mins / Drama, Thriller / Bambara and French

Daouda Coulibaly's auspicious debut is a pulse-pounding political thriller. Wùlu tells the unsettling tale of a man's rise from the bottom rung of the social ladder to the heights of criminal power. The quiet and unassuming Ladji (Ibrahim Koma) lives an impoverished life on the streets of Bamako, Mali's bustling capital. His work selling tickets for a bus company barely pays enough to cover rent for the meager shanty that Ladji and his sister Ami (Inna Modji) call home. When nepotism bars him from yet another promotion, his desperation turns to resolve, and he decides to apply his knowledge of the transportation industry to a new career — as a drug trafficker. Ladji's expertise and street smarts enable his rapid ascent through Bamako's criminal hierarchy. But greater success means greater risks. Ladji and Ami's new, luxurious lifestyle only begets more debts, which propel him deeper into the underworld. He becomes bound up in sinister connections with Mali's military and its shadowy elite.

Daouda Coulibaly

Daouda Coulibaly is a Malian French director. He grew up in Marseilles, France. After a few years in audiovisual editing, he opted to be a director, and then he made his first short film, A History of Independence, inspired from a traditional tale. Further to the good impression made by A History of Independence, he was retained by the program Focus Features - Africa First. Inspired by the traditional way of narration and by Ousmane Sembène, he made a work that reflects the relationship between African film and literature: Tinye So, selected into FESPACO 2011. His 2016 drama, Wùlu, won the Ousmane-Sembène Prize at FESPACO 2017. Learn More