Documentary Educational Resources - Geography / Africa / Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) / All Films

Masters of the Balafon

Wed, 5 Sep 2018 11:07:00 GMT

Masters of the Balafon
Buy Now: $1,050.00

Balafon is the name given in French-speaking West Africa to a xylophone with calabash resonators. This instrument is emblematic of the Senufo people of the Côte d'Ivoire (the former Ivory Coast). The balafon is played under differing circumstances and in combination with different groups of instruments. Not for nothing do the peoples of the Côte d'Ivoire call the northern part of their country "the land of the balafon."

Filmed in long sequences to preserve the integrity of the music and speech of the musicians, this series of four documentaries introduces the audience to the fascinating world of a living musical tradition. Each documentary can be viewed independently, as a whole, or in sections indicated by chapter titles. The complete series lasts nearly 4 ½ hours (including extras), providing a full account of a sophisticated African musical tradition.

“Hugo Zemp has this remarkable gift for placing the audience in the midst of the action... (He) presents a piece of work that no lover of traditional West African music - be it researchers, musicians, music lovers, teachers or students - should do without.”
— Vincent Zanetti, Cahiers de musiques traditionnelles, 15, 2002 (translated from French)

“These videos exhibit, in their picture and sound quality, all the marks of state-of-the-art digital technology, and the camera work by Zemp, usually up close and right in the thick of things, ensures that we can almost feel as if we were there... The series is a major achievement in visual documentation.”
— Roderic Knight, Ethnomusicology, 49 (2), 2005

“The Masters of the Balafon films all show the respect Zemp has for the musicians and their culture, and the instrument.”
— Geoffrey Whittall, The World of Music, 47(2), 2005

Films in the Masters of the Balafon series

Funeral Festivities (with 24 minutes of extras)

The Joy of Youth (with 9 minutes of extras)

The Wood and the Calabash

Friend, Well Come! (with 21 minutes of extras)

Visit Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to see additional products in this category.

Friend, Well Come!

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 14:53:00 GMT

Friend, Well Come!
Buy Now: $295.00

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument.

Returning to Senufo country 40 years after his first encounter with balafon music in 1958, ethnomusicologist Hugo Zemp recalls memories of this and subsequent visits in the early 60s, before participating in a musical event of startling impact. Six orchestras, playing simultaneously but independently, circle with the dancers around the deceased person, who is swathed in fabric by the men before being buried.

The subjective camerawork of this first-person documentary shows us little by little the slow and irresistible build-up in the intensity of the event. An 18-minute sequence-shot allows us to live this unforgettable experience in real time without any interruption.

This DVD includes the extra features:
Senufo Balafons from Burkina Faso (4 min)
Siaka Plays the Maninka Balafon (3 min)
Xylophones Without Resonators (8 min)
Music Class in Abidjan (6 min)

Films in the Masters of the Balafon series

Friend, Well Come! (with 21 minutes of extras)

Funeral Festivities (with 24 minutes of extras)

The Joy of Youth (with 9 minutes of extras)

The Wood and the Calabash

About the Masters of the Balafon series

Balafon is the name given in French-speaking West Africa to a xylophone with calabash resonators. This instrument is emblematic of the Senufo people of the Côte d'Ivoire (the former Ivory Coast). The balafon is played under differing circumstances and in combination with different groups of instruments. Not for nothing do the peoples of the Côte d'Ivoire call the northern part of their country "the land of the balafon."

Filmed in long sequences to preserve the integrity of the music and speech of the musicians, this series of four documentaries introduces the audience to the fascinating world of a living musical tradition. Each documentary can be viewed independently, as a whole, or in sections indicated by chapter titles. The complete series lasts nearly 4 ½ hours (including extras), providing a full account of a sophisticated African musical tradition.

Visit Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to see additional products in this category.

Funeral Festivities

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 14:53:00 GMT

Funeral Festivities
Buy Now: $320.00

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument.

This film shows balafon orchestras playing in five villages during the two principal days of funeral festivities, celebrations that include the most important rites, ceremonies and rejoicings in the life of the Senufo. During dialogues with Sikaman, a young musician who acted as research assistant for this film series, the master balafonist Nahoua gives the key to understanding how this marvelous music comes into being, and what it means.

This DVD includes the extra features:

Blacksmith's Music and Masks (10 min)

"La Clé" Balafon Music (15 min)

Films in the Masters of the Balafon series

Friend, Well Come! (with 21 minutes of extras)

Funeral Festivities (with 24 minutes of extras)

The Joy of Youth (with 9 minutes of extras)

The Wood and the Calabash

About the Masters of the Balafon series

Visit Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to see additional products in this category.

The Joy of Youth

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:13:00 GMT

The Joy of Youth
Buy Now: $320.00

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument.

The music of the balafon is a source of joy while the young men are doing collective work in the fields, at age-group ceremonies, for the poro initiatory society, for the catholic mass and during young people's dance evenings. Musicians and non-musicians, young and old, talk about the different occasions for which this instrument is an indispensable presence marking the rhythms of life for this agricultural people. Traditional balafon music is far from dying out, and its extraordinary vitality and importance are evident in the activities of the younger generations.

This DVD includes the extra feature:
Friendly Hoeing Competition (9 min)

Films in the Masters of the Balafon series

Friend, Well Come! (with 21 minutes of extras)

Funeral Festivities (with 24 minutes of extras)

The Joy of Youth (with 9 minutes of extras)

The Wood and the Calabash

About the Masters of the Balafon series

Visit Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to see additional products in this category.

Return to the Land of Souls

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 08:59:00 GMT

Return to the Land of Souls
Buy Now: $320.00

In the 21st century, many ancestral beliefs are struggling to survive in a hostile, fast-changing world. In southeast Côte d'Ivoire, some Akan communities still make contact with the spirits through Komians or animistic priests who go into a trance and are possessed by the spirits of the Forest and the Waters.

Jean Marie Addiaffi (1941-1999), a writer and intellectual from Ivory Coast, fought to conserve the Akans' oral literature, myths and legends, and the knowledge and uses of the plants.

In Return to the Land of Souls, Yéo Douley, a disciple of Jean Marie Addiaffi, will set out on a journey to visit his master's grave and carry out a ritual libation. On his travel, he will attend the initiation rites of three people chosen by the spirits and witness one of them proclaimed as the new Komian, or high animistic priest.

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Best Documentary, Black International Cinema Berlin, 2010

Africa World Documentary Film Festival, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, 2010

Africa World Documentary Film Festival, Barbados, 2010

Bermuda International Film Festival, 2010

Arizona Black Film Festival, 2010

Visit Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to see additional products in this category.

Siaka, An African Musician

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:46:00 GMT

Siaka, An African Musician
Buy Now: $320.00

Siaka Diabaté is a musician at Bouaké, the second largest town in the Côte d'Ivoire. Through his mother's family he is Senufo, but through his father's ancestry he considers himself a Mande griot. He is a multi-talented professional musician, and for the local festivals plays five instruments: the Senufo and Maninka balafons, the kora harp, the dundun drum and the electric guitar.

This film shows Siaka playing in the group led by Soungalo Coulibaly before his death in 2004, including the use of jembe drums, which we also see being made. Using long continuous shots that give priority to the music and to what Siaka and Soungalo have to say, this documentary introduces the audience to a fascinating world of urban music that incorporates traditional songs and dances by griots.

Shot on site a few weeks before rising of civil war, during various festivities, this film presents a living portrait of this lovable and highly skilled musician working in a traditional environment, adding another dimension to the pleasure of seeing and hearing him during his international tours.

This DVD includes the extra features:
Interview with Soungalo Coulibaly (9 min)
Soungalo and His Group Playing for a Wedding (10 min)

Visit Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to see additional products in this category.

The Wood and the Calabash

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 12:25:00 GMT

The Wood and the Calabash
Buy Now: $320.00

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument.

Balafon makers are all musicians, but a balafon player isn't necessarily an instrument maker. The film shows in detail the manufacture of this musical instrument, an indispensable element in the life of the Senufo people. Each step is shown, from the initial prayer to the genies of the balafon before felling a tree, through the cutting and tuning of the keys and the resonators, to the fixing of the buzzing membranes, which give this instrument its very characteristic timbre.

Nanga, the balafon maker, talks about his work and discusses different aspects with friends during a meal.

Films in the Masters of the Balafon series

Friend, Well Come! (with 21 minutes of extras)

Funeral Festivities (with 24 minutes of extras)

The Joy of Youth (with 9 minutes of extras)

The Wood and the Calabash

About the Masters of the Balafon series

Visit Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to see additional products in this category.

An African Brass Band

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 13:30:00 GMT

An African Brass Band
Buy Now: $320.00

At the beginning of the 20th century in Jacqueville, near Abidjan in the Côte d'Ivoire, traditional music was forbidden by the missionaries. But the inhabitants' enjoyment of their local festivals proved stronger, and the little town developed its own brass band.

This is the story of that brass band, a brass band that isn't at all like a military band. It's a dancing brass band, an African brass band, that accompanies all the big and little moments of life: national festivals, religious ceremonies, funerals, fetes and celebrations, a musical game involving a football, tunes from the famous Mapuka dance, or the experimental use of sacred drums together with the brass band. A lively debate between the musicians, in which a sense of humor is clearly present, as they examine fundamental questions about their tradition and its transformations in the context of the life of people today.

This film was shot in July and August 2002, a few weeks before the outbreak of civil war in the Côte d'Ivoire.

This DVD includes the extra features:

Making of Palm Wine (3 min)

Rehearsal (7 min)

“Zemp filmed... with the ethnographic preciseness and clarity of his past recordings and films from Côte d'Ivoire and the Solomon Islands.”
— Joseph S. Kaminski, The World of Music, 49(3), 2007

“Zemp's documentary is shot in crisp digital video with consistently good sound and lighting. ...The combination of excellent performance footage and the musicians' candid commentary make An African Brass Band valuable to anyone interested in brass brand specifically, and West African music and dance in general.”
— Robert Rumbolz, Ethnomusicology, 52(3), 2008

“The film offers a rare glimpse into local discourse over musical change. It also poses some important methodological and theoretical questions to research ethics, to the agency and involvement of the researcher, and to the complex negotiation over musical and cultural change. (...The film) is highly recommended.”
— Annemette Kirkegaard, Yearbook for Traditional Music, 40, 2008

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Most Innovative Film (ex aequo), Sardinia International Ethnographic Film Festival, Nuoro, 2006

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