Guimba : un tyran, une époque = a tyrant in his time
(DVD)

"En coproduction avec La Centre National de Production Cinématographique du Mali, La Direccion de la Production Cinématographique du Berkino-Faso, La WDR Cologne."

Originally produced as a motion picture in 1995.

Photography, Lionel Cousin; editors, Kahena Attia, Joëlle Dufour; music, Pierre Sauvageot, Michel Risse.

Falaba Issa Traore, Bala Moussa Keita, Habib Dembele, Lamine Diallo, Hélène Diarra, Mouneïssa Maiga, Fatoumata Coulibaly, Cheick Oumar Maiga.

A tyrant throws his city into conflict and chaos when he allows his randy, dwarf son to reject an arranged marriage to the slim local beauty in order for him to pursue the girl's larger, married mother. The tyrant then sets his own eyes on the girl, making the situation even worse. An epic set in the legendary past of Mali (West Africa) to provide a biting allegory of present-day African politics. Through the story of the downfall of Guimba the tyrant, the filmmaker foretells a similar fate for the many dictators who still pillage the continent. He frames his film with the appearance of a griot, a traditional African storyteller who passes down the "wisdom of the ancestors," looking to the values and legends of the African past for inspiration and guidance in reconstructing well-governed, self-sufficient nations.

DVD; letterboxed (1.85:1).

Includes public performance rights for University of Pennsylvania only. Streaming not allowed without separate license. Resource Sharing not permitted.

In Bambara with English subtitles.