Sia, The Dream of the Python


Sia, The Dream of the Python is a 2001 film by Burkina Faso-based filmmaker Dani Kouyaté.
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Plot

Kaya Maghan, the despotic king of Wagadou, follows the instructions of his priest by ordering the religious sacrifice to the Python God of Sia Yatabaree, the daughter of the commander-in-chief WakhanĂ©. A gift of gold equivalent to Sia’s weight is given to her family as compensation for surrendering their daughter for the sacrifice. However, Sia runs away and finds shelter in the home of Kerfa, a mad prophet who has railed against the king. The king orders his top general to locate Sia, but the general is conflicted since Sia was engaged to marry his nephew, Mamadi, who is in battle on behalf of the kingdom. Mamadi returns and joins his uncle to do battle against the Python God. With the help of Balla, a griot, Mamadi accedes to the throne.

Production and release

The inspiration of Sia, le rĂȘve du python is a seventh-century myth of the Wagadu people of Western Africa, which was adapted into the play La lĂ©gende du Wagudu vue par Sia YatabĂ©rĂ© by Mauritanian writer Moussa Diagana. He also adapted the screenplay with filmmaker Dani KouyatĂ©.
Sia, le rĂȘve du python played at the 2001 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, where it won the Special Jury Prize for a Feature Film.
In May 2002, the film had its U.S. theatrical premiere. Critical reaction was mostly positive. Dave Kehr, in The New York Times, praised Kouyate’s directing style as giving the film “a certain timeless quality,” though he noted its “measured pace and lack of dramatic inflection can also seem tedious.” Wilson Morales, writing for BlackFilm.com, praised the film’s technical aspects, stating that the film "is visually stunning, as its costumes and settings capture the essence of what Africa looked like in ancient times." Elizabeth Zimmer of the Village Voice praised the timeless nature of the film’s plot, observing that "the subtitled costume drama is set in a remote African empire before cell phones, guns, and the internal combustion engine, but the politics that thump through it are as timely as tomorrow."
Sia, le rĂȘve du python was released in the U.S. on DVD in 2007 as a double-feature with another BurkinabĂ© film, Tasuma, The Fighter.