Awa Traoré: Waliden, enfant d'autrui/Children of Others

FESPACO 2011 WATCH: Panorama Documentary

Awa Traoré from Mali has a degree in sociology and in 2008 earned a Master's in Documentary Filmmaking at the University of St. Louis. La Fille au foulard was her film de fin d'études.

Synopsis of the film Waliden, enfant d'autrui:

In Mali as in many other African countries, the custom of traditional adoption is a wealth that strengthens family bonds. Children were sent away to live with relatives who took them into their family and raised them, feeling a sense of honor. Today, people have different attitudes and these beliefs have been lost. Adoption may become a nightmare for the child, which was the case for the director of the film for ten years.

With this film, Awa Traoré brings to light what has remained unspoken for a long time: the life of a Waliden, the ill-treatment of a child from a traditional adoption.

She has this to say about the film Waliden, enfant d'autrui:

When I look to understand certain things, I return to my village in search of Kotama, the old family griot. This time, lying in his hammock in the courtyard in N'Goa, my griot talked to me about the custom of traditional adoption, its social benefits in the past, and its consequences in contemporary Mali. The words of old Kotama take me back to the painful memories of my adoption, my own story and that of thousands of African children.

Collection Lumière d'Afrique 01 (Africadoc)