Askia Traoré

A historical documentary series that proposes to discover the greatest kingdoms and empires of Africa before colonization. A highlight of the legacies left to the world today.

Shot in early 2004 during the commemoration of the bicentennial of Haiti, this film offers a unique light on the last days to the presidency of Aristide, former priest of the poor became apprentice dictator. It is a reflection on the history of the first black republic in the world, a nation shared between the memory of its glorious revolution and the tragic litany of despots that have overwhelmed it since its independence.

Set to the soundtrack of Papa Wemba's extraordinary music, this outrageous, funny and eye-opening film depicts the underground world of a flamboyant African cult. Papa Wemba is a well-known Congolese singer. He is also a big cheese in Le Sape, the Société des Ambianceurs et Persons Élégants, which translated into English means a society of people who spend huge amounts of money on designer clothes with the motive of making themselves as conspicuously elegant as possible. The film is a splendid evocation of Papa Wemba's music, but it is also an unusual insight into what it means to be an immigrant in contemporary Europe. The sapeur have borrowed from our own culture, creating something rich and strange and wholly Congolese. Don't miss the scene where they try on fur coats.

In a small town in West Africa, the bodies of mutilated children are discovered. The population is gripped by psychosis and Mami Wata, an aquatic goddess, is accused of being the cause. Issa, a police inspector obsessed by the disappearance of his own child, decides to investigate the case. With the local police chief, Malika Dramé, they embark on a terrifying investigation, where the beliefs of some serve the power of others. A dark film, without concession, which denounces certain evils of Africa at the risk of awakening the spirit of the river…