New York Theatrical RELEASE of BAMAKO
New Yorker Films Acquires” Bamako”
Bamako coming to Film Forum, February 14th, 2007
New Yorker Films Acquires” Bamako”
For a February 14, 2007 Theatrical Release
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Louverture Films’ Executive Producers Danny Glover and Joslyn Barnes are pleased to announce that New Yorker Films has acquired their critically acclaimed political drama “Bamako”, directed by one of Africa’s most highly regarded directors, Abderrahmane Sissako.
On the heels of Bamako’s success at this year’s Festival Du Cannes, Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival, New Yorker Films will release the film in New York at the Film Forum on February 14, 2007 followed by a national release.
Set in the courtyard of a mud walled house in Bamako, the capital city of Mali, the film voices Africa’s grievances in an original and profoundly moving way: educating, and at the same time, entertaining the audience. The intimate personal story of an African couple on the verge of breaking up is told alongside very public political proceedings. The country’s civil society is taking action against the international financial institutions whom they directly blame for Africa’s woes.
With humor and rhythm, everyday life goes on in the midst of the powerful testimonials and pleas made at the trial. A lush mix of warm colors and inspirational music, “Bamako” is a unique opportunity for a worldwide audience to become familiar with contemporary Africa.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, says: “Bamako is a film that needs to be seen, argued over and seen again.” A.O.Scott
TIME OUT NY says: “It’s easy to recommend Abderrahmane Sissako’s exuberant Bamako, not least for its vibrant Malian settings and cast of villagers. More substantially, the movie takes on a key issue of our time—African debt and the crippling policies of the International Monetary Fund—and magically manages to be critical without feeling at all like a lecture. The issues are mostly explored in a dazzling fictional trial, one that’s interrupted by a bizarro, Leone-style Western starring Danny Glover. Rarely have politics and pleasure mixed this freely."
VARIETY Adds: "'Bamako' brilliantly rises to the challenge of presenting a serious discussion of globalization, African debt and the World Bank in a lively, entertaining feature film... Talented Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako ("Life on Earth," "Waiting for Happiness") hits a high note with this warm winner."
DIRECTOR ABDERRAHMANE SISSAKO
(Phonetically pronounced: Ab der a mann, See sako)
"What drove me to make ‘Bamako’," explains Sissako, "comes from my outlook on Africa, not the continent which is mine, but a zone of injustice which directly affects me. When we live on a continent where the act of making a film is rare and difficult, we say to ourselves that we can speak in the name of others: faced with the gravity of the African situation, I felt a sense of urgency to evoke the hypocrisy of the North towards the countries of the South."
Born in Kiffa, Mauritania, in 1961 and raised in Mali, his father’s homeland. When he returned to Mauritania in 1980, the emotional and financial difficulties of adjustment made him turn to literature and film. A study grant allowed him to attend the Institute of the University of Moscow. Le Jeu (1990), first presented as a graduation assignment, won the prize for best short at the Giornate del Cinema Africano of Perugia in 1991. In 1993, his film October was shown at Locarno and won prizes the world over. In 1998 he made Life on Earth (aka La vie sur terre). Waiting for Happiness (aka Heremakono) was screened at Cannes 2002 and was winner of the FIPRESCI award for best film in the Un Certain Regard section. It was also shown at the New York Film Festival in 2002 and won the Grand Prize at FESPACO in 2003. He spent many years living in France but Africa is always at the heart of his films. His work is both fiction and documentary, political and poetic.
ABOUT LOUVERTURE FILMS www.louverturefilms.com
Dedicated to the development and production of films of historical relevance and social purpose, Louverture Films is also passionate about nurturing artistic creativity and integrity. The New York based company has a slate of progressive features and documentaries, which include most notably TOUSSAINT. The action-epic is based on the Haitian Revolution and the heroic life of Toussaint Louverture, who led one of the only successful slave uprisings in history and defeated the French, Spanish and British imperial armies, establishing the first independent black Republic: Haiti. The film will be shot in South Africa and directed by Danny Glover.
DANNY GLOVER, CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Regarding Bamako, Glover has this to say: “We’re at a stage where people are being marginalized and uprooted by economic globalization, a process which has created enormous wealth disparities both between countries and within countries,” says Glover. “The structural violence of this new global economy has been has been foisted upon the South and has broken families and communities which have had a long tradition of sustainability. Bamako is important because it attempts to present the reality of what is happening to people, while at the same time clarifying the macroeconomic context that creates that reality. It’s a landmark film, in that it brings us closer to the truth in the lives of others without strident polemics.”
In addition to being one of the most acclaimed actors of our time, with a career spanning 25 years, from Places in the Heart, The Color Purple, the Lethal Weapon series, Danny Glover has been the recipient of countless awards for his humanitarian and advocacy efforts on behalf of economic and social justice causes.
Most recently, Glover completed filming the highly-anticipated feature Dreamgirls for director Bill Condon, and Shooter for director Antoine Fuqua. He is currently working in New York on Be Kind, Rewind for director Michel Gondry. Glover is also about to make his directorial debut with his film "Toussaint," an action epic that will star Don Cheadle, Wesley Snipes and Angela Bassett, among other luminaries. "Toussaint," is based on the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) and its charismatic leader Toussaint Louverture. With pre-production already in swing, production is set for South Africa in 2007.
JOSLYN BARNES, CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Joslyn Barnes is a writer and producer with experience in several fields. She is the author or co-author of twelve commissioned screenplays for feature films including the upcoming epic TOUSSAINT, and the award-winning film Bàttu, directed by Cheikh Oumar Sissoko (Mali), which she associate produced with British Screen and EMET Films. Prior to co-founding Louverture Films, Barnes served as an expert consultant and program officer at the United Nations for eight years. She has lived and traveled widely in Africa and Asia.
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BAMAKO www.bamako-film.com
Language: French, Bambara Running Time: 115 minutes
For Further Information Contact Rogers & Cowan:
Teri Kane
EVP Motion Picture Division
212-445-8415
917 692 1076
tkane@rogersandcowan.com
Joanne Schioppi
Senior Account Executive
212 445-8416
917 853 7484
jschioppi@rogersandcowan.com
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