Dakan
Encyclopedia
Dakan is a 1997
French
/Guinea
n drama film
written and directed by Mohamed Camara
. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
. Telling the story of two young men struggling with their love for each other, it has been described as the first West Africa
n feature film to deal with homosexuality
.
. He meets and becomes engaged to a white woman called Oumou. Both men try to make their heterosexual
relationships work but are ultimately drawn back to each other. Manga's mother eventually gives her blessing to the pair and the end of the film sees Sory and Manga driving off together towards an uncertain future.
n film, the first Sub-Saharan film and the first film by a Black African to deal with homosexuality. It depicts the conflict between homosexual characters and their families in a society where homosexuality is taboo. According to Monica Bungaro in "Male Feminist Fiction", the film suggests that homosexuality is in fact natural and widespread. Sory appears to be attractive to several other young men, and the relationship between Sory and Manga is accepted by their classmates.
Camara started making Dakan with funding from the governments of France and Guinea. When the Guinean government discovered that the subject-matter was homosexuality, it withdrew funding. Camara used his own money to fund the project and received some financial support from French television network La Sept
. Filming faced disruption from angry protesters. The cast consisted of local Guinean actors, and one French actress. Camara originally planned to play the part of Manga himself, but ended up playing Sori's father. The soundtrack features the music of Guinean musician Sory Kandia Kouyate.
d at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
during Directors' Fortnight
. It played at several other film festivals including the 1998 New York Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and the 1999 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou
in Burkina Faso
. It opened in French theatres on July 7, 1999. It was released onto Region 2
DVD by Éclair on September 22, 2005. In 2006 Dakan was shown at the Museum of Modern Art
's "Another Wave: Global Queer Cinema" exhibition in New York City
.
, David Stratton
called it "a trailblazer in the African context" and praised the use of traditional music. He said that Western audiences might find the story "slight". In The New York Times
, Anita Gates said that the film lacks subtlety but that within its context, it is significant.
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
French
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
/Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Mohamed Camara
Mohamed Camara (film director)
Mohamed Camara is a Guinean film director and actor based in France. He studied at the Atelier Blanche Salant in Paris. He has explored controversial topics in his films such as incest , child suicide and homosexuality...
. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. Telling the story of two young men struggling with their love for each other, it has been described as the first West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n feature film to deal with homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
Plot
Manga and Sory are two young men in love with each other. Manga tells his widowed mother of the relationship, and Sory tells his father. Both parents forbid their sons to see each other again. Sory marries and has a child. Manga's mother turns to witchcraft to cure her son, and he unsuccessfully undergoes a lengthy form of aversion therapyAversion therapy
Aversion therapy is a form of psychological treatment in which the patient is exposed to a stimulus while simultaneously being subjected to some form of discomfort...
. He meets and becomes engaged to a white woman called Oumou. Both men try to make their heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
relationships work but are ultimately drawn back to each other. Manga's mother eventually gives her blessing to the pair and the end of the film sees Sory and Manga driving off together towards an uncertain future.
Cast
- Mohamed CamaraMohamed Camara (film director)Mohamed Camara is a Guinean film director and actor based in France. He studied at the Atelier Blanche Salant in Paris. He has explored controversial topics in his films such as incest , child suicide and homosexuality...
- Cécile Bois
- Mamady Mory Camara
- Koumba Diakite
- Aboucar Touré
- Kade Seck
Background and production
Dakan has been variously described as the first West AfricaWest Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n film, the first Sub-Saharan film and the first film by a Black African to deal with homosexuality. It depicts the conflict between homosexual characters and their families in a society where homosexuality is taboo. According to Monica Bungaro in "Male Feminist Fiction", the film suggests that homosexuality is in fact natural and widespread. Sory appears to be attractive to several other young men, and the relationship between Sory and Manga is accepted by their classmates.
Camara started making Dakan with funding from the governments of France and Guinea. When the Guinean government discovered that the subject-matter was homosexuality, it withdrew funding. Camara used his own money to fund the project and received some financial support from French television network La Sept
La Sept
La Sept was a French television broadcaster and production company created on 23 February 1986 to develop cultural and educational programming for transmission via the TDF 1 satellite...
. Filming faced disruption from angry protesters. The cast consisted of local Guinean actors, and one French actress. Camara originally planned to play the part of Manga himself, but ended up playing Sori's father. The soundtrack features the music of Guinean musician Sory Kandia Kouyate.
Distribution
Dakan premièrePremiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
d at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
during Directors' Fortnight
Directors' Fortnight
Directors' Fortnight is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. The section was created in 1969 after the events of May 1968, in which the Cannes festival was canceled in solidarity with striking workers....
. It played at several other film festivals including the 1998 New York Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and the 1999 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou
Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou
The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou is the largest African film festival, held biennially in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The festival is the biggest regular cultural event on the African continent and it mostly focuses on the African film and African filmmakers...
in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
. It opened in French theatres on July 7, 1999. It was released onto Region 2
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD by Éclair on September 22, 2005. In 2006 Dakan was shown at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
's "Another Wave: Global Queer Cinema" exhibition in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Reception
In 1998, Dakan won the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Foreign Narrative Feature at L.A. Outfest. Writing for VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, David Stratton
David Stratton
David James Stratton is an English- Australian film critic and television personality.-Life and career:Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly...
called it "a trailblazer in the African context" and praised the use of traditional music. He said that Western audiences might find the story "slight". In The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Anita Gates said that the film lacks subtlety but that within its context, it is significant.
External links
- Dakan at California NewsreelCalifornia NewsreelCalifornia Newsreel, founded in 1968, is an American non-profit, social justice film distribution and production company based in San Francisco, California. Their educational media resources include both documentary and feature films, with a focus on the advancement of racial justice and diversity...