MOOLAADE (2006)

Cast

Plot

The acclaimed new film from the legendary director Ousmane Sembene, widely regarded as the father of African cinema, brilliantly tackles his most controversial subject to date - female circumcision. In a small village in Burkina Faso, four young girls have fled the ritual of 'purification' and seek protection - moolaadé - from Collé, a circumcised woman who helped her own daughter escape excision seven years earlier. Collé grants the girls sanctuary, much to the consternation of those villagers who believe in the upholding of tradition. As the two opposing sets of values clash, tensions within the village begin to rise. A wonderfully realised life-affirming film, Moolaadé celebrates women in modern-day Africa. Winner of the Best Film Un Certain Regard at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.