BANEL & ADAMA
Special Features: Co-presented with the DC Environmental Film Festival in recognition of World Water Day on March 22
[BANEL E ADAMA] Run Time: 87 Minutes Opening Date: Friday, March 22, 2024 Genre: Romance drama
Set against the terrestrial majesty of the Sahel, BANEL & ADAMA is a tragic romance following a young couple as they strive for independence and self-possession in the face of imperious tradition. Neither Senegal nor the rest of the world has known a love like the one shared by Banel (Khady Mane) and Adama (Mamadou Diallo), each eager to begin their adult lives away from the stifling demands of their families and community. They were married by an ostensible combination of chance and duty when Adama's older brother Yero died, leaving a still-young Banel, his second wife, a too-young widow. Now, the same duty dictates that Adama accept the role of village chief. However, the fated lovers have plans that do not include the expectations of others. That is, until something in the air changes. The rains do not come, the cattle begin to die, the men leave and Banel, once lovelorn and lost in responsibility, surrenders to the call for a life lived beyond prescription. Premiering in competition at last year's Cannes Film Festival — the sole feature debut granted the honor — BANEL & ADAMA is a lyrical odyssey that takes a hypnotic descent into mythic fabulism with the profundity of a timeless fable. Sy delivers a lesson in craft, building lush, inspired and strong-willed characters who command perspective, seeking to carve out a future for themselves in a narrative atmosphere hauntingly alive from sand to sky. (Note adapted from TIFF.) DIR/SCR Ramata-Toulaye Sy; PROD Margaux Juvénal, Maud Leclair-Névé, Éric Névé. Senegal/France/Mali, 2023, color, 87 min. In Pulaar with English subtitles. NOT RATED
