Katanga is a powerful, Afro-noir thriller from one of Africa’s most celebrated filmmakers.
For more than 50 years, Burkina Faso has been an important hub of Africa’s rich arthouse film scene, and director Dani Kouyaté is one of its biggest names. His newest film, Katanga: The Dance of the Scorpions, is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the timeless and universal story of power, political intrigue, and ambition. The film is rendered in black and white, and the actors speak Mooré, one of the dominant languages in Burkina Faso. After a failed conspiracy against the crown, King Pazouknaam names his cousin Katanga as head of the armed forces. Pushed by his ambitious wife, Katanga kills the king and takes the throne—and then there is no deed too low to keep his grip on power. In Mooré with English subtitles. (113 mins., 4K DCP)
Additionally, Dani Kouyaté will join Prof. Ryan Skinner (Music and AAAS) for Skinner’s “Inaugural Lecture” on Tuesday, 24 September at the Faculty Club (4-5:30pm), “Dialogue as Humanistic Inquiry.”
In this lecture, Kouyaté and Skinner will introduce their collaborative book project, Openings: The Life, Work, and Worldview of a Cinematic Griot, and discuss Kouyaté’s new film.