San Francisco International Film Festival 20 April - 04 May 2006

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God's Gift is the first feature by writer-director Gaston Kabore, a native of Upper Volta and Director of the National Center of Cinema in Ouagadoudou. The film takes place in Africa before the arrival of any white man, at a time when the Dark Continent was a vast expanse of tribal villages living in peace and prosperity. The story is presented in the manner of a folk tale or fable and uses this form to explore aspects of African heritage and to point out similarities in the emotional behavior of people then and now. A small boy—a mute—is found lying on the ground, half dead. He is raised by a weaver and his family as if he were one of their own. He tends the sheep, is adored by his little sister and manages to communicate in a primitive sign language. His sister begs him to speak, but is is not until the trauma of seeing a dead woman lying on the ground that he regains the power of speech and reveals his origins. The music in the film is particularly noteworthy—African themes played on classical instruments, without drums. Rene Gurma’s score along, with the excellent camera work of Sekou Ouedraogo, add depth and style. Kabore was born in 1951 and studied history and film in Paris. In addition to his other duties, he teaches at the African Institute of Film Education.

—Barbara Schultz

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