The Birthday

A king’s son takes over when his father dies.

Within the framework of the “Half a Century of Locarno, Thoughts on the Future” project, seven directors, Idrissa Ouedraogo among them, have the chance to express their vision of the future of the film industry by means of a short film. “The state of the film industry the world is a vast issue,” says the director from Burkina Faso. “I would rather speak about my films, about African films and their relationship with the world”.

A dwarf born into an intolerant village meets a farmer who teaches her about love, friendship and sacrifice.

Karim's father is missing and presumed dead, which is why his father's brother has taken over the house and is now his stepfather: this is the custom in Burkina Faso. This would be all right with Karim, except that his new stepfather is a harsh, unloving man, who would just as soon beat him as look at him, and he is the same way with the lad's mother. At the same time, Karim has made friends with Sala, a girl from a wealthy family, starting from when he gave her a baby goat-kid. Their friendship prospers enough so that, when Karim and his mother leave the abusive uncle carrying only what they are wearing on their backs, Sala is able to persuade her family to help them settle safely elsewhere. When Karim's father turns up at last, it is icing on the cake, for they are now able to send the obnoxious man who overshadowed their lives away in disgrace.

In a Mossi village (in Burkina Faso), two elderly men make traditional wooden bowls used for everyday purposes. The work is difficult and meticulous, and has been abandoned by young people who seem to have left the village.

Issa is a traditional weaver in Burkina Faso who loves his trade. However, so as not to lose his clientele and continue making enough to keep his wife, Issa finds himself forced to sell Western clothes.

Koudougou and Poko, a young couple, await the birth of their first child. Unfortunately, the pregnancy does not go well for Poko. First, the village midwife examines her, but to no avail. The village council meet and decide Poko should go into town for treatment.

Saga returns to his village after an extended absence to discover that his father has taken Nogma, Saga's promised bride, for himself. Still in love with each other, the two begin an affair, although it would be considered incestuous.

A small African village. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother). When Bila's cousin Nopoko gets sick it is Sana's medicine that saves her.

Eleven directors from eleven countries each contribute an eleven-minute short reflecting on the events of 11 September 2001: A village teacher in Iran tries to explain to her young students what's happened; city kids in Burkina Faso think they've spotted Osama bin Laden; a deaf Frenchwoman in Manhattan writes a Dear John letter to a man who left that morning for work at the World Trade Center; a Chilean remembers Allende; events recall other deaths; a mother endures more than her son's death. Tones vary, as do the locales. Most concern coming to terms with the events of the day, but at least one confronts the viewer with tragedy and death.

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

The only surviving accomplice of a gas station robbery gone bad, Samba Traoré flees the scene with a suitcase full of cash. However, his newfound happiness is put to the test as he struggles to cope with the moral crisis of his crimes.

Kini and Adams are two friends leaving in a Zimbabwe village who dream of repairing an old broken car, and moving to the city and starting life over.

This drama focuses upon the psychological adjustment problems of a young boy whose family moves him from Africa to Paris, France. Moctar, a boy whose first 11 years were spent in a small village in Mali, is having difficulty adjusting to his new life in Paris. After several years in Paris, Moctar suddenly sees a terrible hyena in the street. When Moctar tries to explain his vision, he becomes the laughingstock of his peers and a patient for the school psychologist. No one believes Moctar, not even his parents, until he is befriended by Paulo who helps Moctar understand.

Eugene, an idealistic young African farmer and musician, decides to leave his village and family momentarily to try out his luck in the city. He makes new friends there, who accompany him on his musical career. He also meets up with Kassi, a childhood friend who has become a prostitute, with whom a new, closer friendship begins. However, when she dies from AIDS, Eugene is confronted by the harsh reality that his spontaneity and innocence blocked out and decides to put his singing talents and fame as a singer to the service of fighting the disease of AIDS. Once back home in his village, the reunion with his wife and children make him realize that life and hope are more powerful than anything else.

The movie shows the rise and fall of a cruel and despotic village chief Guimba, and his son Jangine in a fictional village in the Sahel of Mali.