Yaaba

Yaaba
Film poster
Directed by	Idrissa Ouedraogo
Written by	Idrissa Ouedraogo
Screenplay by	Idrissa Ouédraogo
Produced by	Arcadia Films, Les Films de l'avenir, Télévision suisse romande, Thelma Film AG
Starring	Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ouedraogo, Roukietou Barry, Adama Ouedraogo, Amadé Tour
Cinematography	Matthias Kälin
Edited by	Loredana Cristelli
Music by	Francis Bebey
Distributed by	New Yorker Films (U.S.)
Release date	September 14, 1989 (1989-09-14) (TIFF)
Running time	90 minutes
Countries	Burkina Faso Switzerland France
Language	Mòoré
Box office	$55,000

Yaaba is a 1989 Burkinabé drama film written, produced, and directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo. It won the Sakura Gold prize at the 1989 Tokyo Film Festival. The film was selected as the Burkinabé entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 62nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

The film was the subject of a short documentary Parlons Grand-mère, which was shot during the film's production by Djibril Diop Mambéty.

Plot

In a Mossi village in Burkina Faso, Bila (Noufou Ouédraogo), a ten-year-old boy, makes friends with an old woman called Sana (Fatimata Sanga), who has been accused of witchcraft by her village, and has become a social outcast. Only Bila is respectful of her, and calls her yaaba (Grandmother).

When Bila's cousin, Nopoko (Roukietou Barry), falls ill, a medicine man insists that Sana has stolen the girl's soul. Sana undergoes a long and gruelling but ultimately successful journey to find a medicine to save Nopoko's life, but is still treated as a witch.

After Sana dies, the real reason why she is hated in the village is uncovered, but the love and wisdom she invested in Bila and Nopoko lives on.

Awards

• FIPRESCI Prize (Cannes, 1989)

See also

• List of submissions to the 62nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Sub-Saharan African submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

External links

• Yaaba at IMDb
• Yaaba at AllMovie