Abderrahmane Sissako: Bamako

Abderrahmane Sissako sets his late father’s backyard as a courtroom for the injustices of economic neocolonialism in his 2006 drama Bamako, our second of three forays into the work of the Malian/Mauritanian master director. In a work that inextricably binds the political and the personal, Wilson notes how Sissako creates a sense of place that makes an intellectual argument emotional and Eli suggests that the movie can be viewed as a testimonial. Meanwhile, Ben asks if a fiction narrative is the most cogent mode for Sissako’s argument.

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CREW:

Director & Writer: Abderrahmane Sissako

Producers: Danny Glover, Denis Freyd, Abderrahmane Sissako, Joslyn Barnes, Arnaud Louvet, Maji-da Abdi, François Sauvagnargues

Editors: Nadia ben Rachid, Pauline Casalis

Cinematography: Jacques Besse

Production Design: Mahamadou Kouyaté

Costumes: Maji-da Abdi

CAST:

Melé: Aïssa Maïga

Chaka: Tiécoura Traoré

Saramba: Maimouna Hélène Diarra

Falaï: Balla Habib Dembélé

Chaka’s Sister: Djénéba Koné

Journalist: Hamadoun Kassogué

Civil Party Lawyer: William Bourdon

Defence Lawyer: Mamadou Kanouté

Prosecutor: Gabriel Magma Konate

Témoin 2: Aminata Traoré

Cow-boy: Danny Glover

Cow-boy: Elia Suleiman

Cow-boy: Jean-Henri Roger

Cow-boy: Zeka Laplaine