Language Bambara (3)

In Moolaade - veteran Senegalese film director Ousmane Sembene tackles the controversy of female circumcision in a passionate drama set in a rural village in Burkina Faso. When four little girls flee a purification ceremony and 'the cut' - they take refuge with Collé (Fatoumata Coulibaly), a woman who refused to have her own daughter circumcised.

Inspired by a play by Mauritanian writer Moussa Diagana, this film brings an ancient African legend to the screen. Kombi, a poverty-stricken city, suffers under the yoke of a tyrant king who is advised by his priests to sacrifice a young virgin to a traditional snake god.

Moving seamlessly from the corruption of modern-day politics to the purity of ancient sacred knowledge, this Malian tale asserts the power of Bambara culture and its capacity to reward the true believer.