The first in a series of award-winning films from Africa, which includes Drissa Toure's Haramuya (Burkina Faso/France, 1995, 87 mins., French and Bambara with English subtitles), a lively dramatic feature about cultural and economic disparities in the capital city of Burkina Faso. These social conflicts are revealed through the trials of a Muslim family caught between the traps of modernity and the sway of tradition. "Haramuya is an urban  chronicle, a gallery of portraits in situations which create a colorful mosaic" (Cannes Film Festival). In Abbdoulaye Ascofare's Faraw! Mother of the Dunes (Mali, 1997, 90 mins., Songhoi with English subtitles), a mother of three tries desperately to keep her family alive upon the return of her mentally and physically destroyed husband, a political prisoner. Determined to have her children survive without prostituting her beautiful daughter, her struggle symbolizes the plight of all African women trapped in a cycle of extreme poverty. "One of the strongest portraits of female determination to Drissa Toure/Abbdoulaye Ascofare---Burkina Faso/France/Mali---1995/1997---177 mins.

• Facets Video
  Release Date: 07/24/2007