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Yeelen

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EntityQ2335016· pop 21· linked from 172 articles

Also known as Brightness

Yeelen (Bambara for "brightness"/"light") is a 1987 Malian film written, directed and produced by Souleymane Cissé. It is filmed in the Bambara and Fula languages, and is based on a legend told by the Bambara people. Though the era is undefined, it is presumably set in the 13th century in the Mali Empire and is a heroic quest narrative featuring magic and precognition.

Film · TMDB

6.6

A young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father.

Released: 1987-07-01105 minDir: Souleymane CisséDrama, Fantasy

Cast

  • Issiaka Kane as Niankoro, the Son
  • Balla Moussa Keita as Rouma Boll, the Fulani King
  • Aoua Sangare as Attou, the Young Fulani Woman
  • Ismaila Sarr as Bofing, the Uncle
  • Niamanto Sanogo as Soma / Djigui
  • Soumba Traore as Mah, the Mother

Themes

  • magic
  • africa
  • sorcerer
  • based on myths, legends or folklore
  • tribal customs
  • tribal people

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Ratings

IMDb

6.9/10

3,020 votes

Year
1987
Runtime
105 min
Genres
Drama, Fantasy

via IMDb

Key facts

Film.name
Yeelen
Film.image
yeelen.jpg
Film.caption
VHS cover
Film.director
Souleymane Cissé
Film.producer
Souleymane Cissé
Film.writer
Souleymane Cissé
Film.runtime
105 minutes
Film.country
MaliBurkina FasoFranceWest Germany
Film.language
Bambara, Fula

via Wikipedia infobox

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

8 sections
Contents
  • Plot
  • Cast
  • Accolades
  • Reception
  • See also
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • External links

Yeelen (Bambara for "brightness"/"light") is a 1987 Malian film written, directed and produced by Souleymane Cissé. It is filmed in the Bambara and Fula languages, and is based on a legend told by the Bambara people. Though the era is undefined, it is presumably set in the 13th century in the Mali Empire and is a heroic quest narrative featuring magic and precognition.

Cissé has stated in an interview for Cahiers du Cinéma that it was "in part made in opposition to European ethnographic films” and that he “wanted to make a response to an external perception, a perception by white technicians and academics, an alien perception."

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Yeelen” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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