MARFILMES

SAITANE
AFRICAN FILMS

Original Title: Saitane Niger, 1973 color 58'

	A sorcerer (played by the director himself) controls all activities in a village. Manipulating the different parties, he promises love, good health and riches in exchange for the most extravagant rewards. One day someone exposes him and the sorcerer becomes the laughing stock of the whole village. Desperate, he throws himself off a cliff. Restored master from the original negative. Language: Djerma Cast Moussa Alzouma, Oumarou Ganda, Zaïnabou Lobo, Zalika Souley, Damouré Zika Director: Oumarou Ganda Production Company: Cabas-Films	X
Versions: Subtitled in English and French Availability: The World, except the African Continent


Oumarou Ganda (1931-1981, Niger) Oumarou Ganda was born in Niamey, of Djerma ethnicity. At the age of 16, he joined the French Far East Expeditionary Corps. After spending two years in Asia during the First Indochina War he returned to Niger. He was unable to find work, so he emigrated to Ivory Coast and became a longshoreman in the port of Abidjan. There he met French anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch. Rouch was interested in the Nigerien community in Ivory Coast and hired Ganda as a statistician for his research on immigration. Ganda had a small role in Rouch's 1957 film Zazouman de Treichville, and the lead role in Moi un Noir in 1958. A few years later he returned to Niamey and became an assistant technician. His first film, Cabascabo, is based on his experiences in Indochina. He continued making films throughout the 1970s, many of which received international acclaim. His most famous, Le Wazzou Polygame (1970) won the first FESPACO Film Festival Best Film Award. In addition to his feature-films, Ganda completed several documentaries. Among his posthumous honors, a major cultural center in Niamey, Le Centre Culturel Oumarou GANDA (C.C.O.G) was named after him in 1981, shortly after his death. FESPACO began awarding an African Feature Film Award named the Oumarou Ganda Prize. Filmography As director: Le Niger au Festival de Carthage, 1980 L'Exilé, 1980 Cock Cock Cock, 1977 Saïtane, 1972 Le Wazzou polygame, 1970 - First FESPACO grand prize in 1972. Cabascabo, 1969 - Special jury prize at the Moscow International Film Festival, International Critics' Award at Málaga, Honorable Mention at the Carthage Film Festival. As actor: L'Exile (1980) Babatu (1976) Saitane (1973) Le wazzou polygame (1971) Cabascabo (1969) Moi un noir (1958)