Bamako
In a mock trial in an open courtyard in Bamako, Mali, the people of Africa accuse the G8, the World Bank and the IMF of betraying them with their ‘restructuring’ programmes of the past 20 years. The witnesses are economists, academics and the victims of privatization. In one memorable scene, an unemployed teacher, whose face is testimony to his suffering, can’t even bring himself to speak.
The trial is the centrepiece, but the film is much more than that. Around it we see everyday life in the courtyard, and people coming, going, watching, listening. Women are busy in the workshop, a man is dying in a nearby room, children are playing, a marriage is falling apart. There are moments of great beauty, like the song of the nightclub singer who lives just off the courtyard. There’s lightness and humour too, as when, during a grand speech, a small child wanders around on squeaky shoes.
Sissako’s contemplative style is some way from the conventions of Western cinema, but crucial to what he’s about. The trial is central, and seeing these powerful organizations having to defend their shameful record is hugely satisfying. But Sissako shows us how life goes on around it to illustrate the debate – and to expose its limitations. This debate is often deeply felt and passionately expressed, but is abstract and ideological. It means little to the people in the public seats and listening outside on a PA.
The advocates are concerned to win their arguments about policies, not to connect to the people who suffer from their consequences. An old man intones his speech in his native Bambara, but it remains untranslated. An unemployed man tells a journalist there’s no point recording what he has to say because no-one will listen.
Sissako has made a great film. Yes, it’s about globalization. But to an even greater extent, it’s about how the debate rarely involves those it most affects.
- Product information
- written and directed by Abderrahmane Sissako
- Star rating
Join over 10,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, issue alerts, contests, and more!
Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
New Internationalist (NI) workers' co-operative exists to report on issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and the powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the fight for global justice.
Except where otherwise noted, images on this site are copyright of the photographer/illustrator or representative agency.Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
