Synopsis
The Sorko fishermen hunt hippopotami on the Niger river with harpoons. Before their departure, a ceremony is held to question the spirit of the river as to the success of the hunt, which results in the capture of two hippopotami : a woman possessed by the spirit of the river dances and the fishermen spray magic water on her to stoke up their own courage. One female hippopotamus is killed and a young one captured alive. But an old male, solitary and fierce, despite his numerous harpoon wounds, succeeds in escaping after damaging the hunters’ great dug-out canoe.
Credits
Production and distribution (1)
- Executive Producers : Institut Français - Afrique Noire (IFAN), Musée de l'Homme
Full credits (1)
- Director of Photography : Jean Rouch
Technical details
- Type : Short film
- Genres : Documentary
- Original French-language productions : Unspecified
- Nationality : 100% French
- Production year : 1951
- Runtime : 33 min
- Color type : Color
- Aspect ratio : 1.37
- Audio format : Mono
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MyFrenchShorts
Full film to discover (with English-subs)
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🏆 This short film won the César Award 2024 for Best Short Film (Fiction)