SFFS Screen Presents: Delwende October 31, 2008

Delwende (Léve-toi et marche, Burkina Faso/France/Switzerland 2005), directed by S. Pierre Yameogo, a firmly feminist drama about a young woman determined to clear her exiled mother of accusations of witchcraft, will open at SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas on Friday, October 31 at 1:45PM, 4:15PM, 7:15 & 9:25PM.

A rural and seemingly idyllic village in Burkina Faso is hit with a mysterious epidemic that is killing its children. The culprit, according to the men of the village, is a “soul eater”—a woman employing witchcraft. Though the French-language radio reports that a meningitis outbreak is responsible, no one in the village understands French, and Burkina Faso is a country where such ancestral customs are not only still treated as the rule of law but also as a patriarchal tool to punish the powerless. Village elder Diarrha, whose teenaged daughter Pougbila has recently been raped and hastily married off to a man in another village, duplicitously sets up his own wife Napoko as the soul eater, and exiles her to a life wandering the dusty roads of Burkina Faso. Like Cheick Oumar Sissoko’s Finzan (SFIFF 1990) and Ousmane Sembene’s Moolaadé, Delwende (the name of one of the shelters for accused witches) is a fiercely feminist critique of post-colonial Africa and its adherence to outmoded beliefs and patriarchal injustice. It’s also a vibrantly photographed and rousing tale of a woman’s courage that is sure to inspire. Written by S. Pierre Yameogo. Photographed by Jürg Hassler. With Blandine Yaméogo, Claire Ilboudo, Célestin Zongo, Daniel Kabore. In Moor and French with English subtitles. 90 min. Distributed by New Yorker Films.

At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets will be available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at www.sundancecinemas.com with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members will receive discounted admission to SFFS Screen programs at the box office only (not online or at the lobby kiosks).

For full, complete and up-to-date information on all SFFS Screen programming, including ticket purchasing, visit www.sffs.org. Information and tickets are also available at www.sundancecinemas.com.

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org/events/films/film_delwende.html