Ziable Honore Goore Bi: Ossei	Albertine N'Guessan: Mo Akassi
Rasmane Ouedraogo: Adanggaman	Mylene-Perside Boti Kouame: Naka

Director: Roger Gnoan M'Bala

Eerily contemporary account of the experience of a group of 17th century Africans en route to becoming slaves in America. This fictionalized chronicle based on fact begins in a village in Africa where a bold young man, Ossei, is frolicking with his servant class girlfriend. He is being pressured to marry someone else of his father's choosing. He talks of being a free man who will choose his own wife. His father and mother admonish him that he must respect tradition.

The deceptively simple manner in which the story is told and the simplicity of the translation for subtitling give it the feel of a fable. There is a greater point being made in the film beyond the topical conflict within the family based on generational differences. This is the not-often-told story of the mercenary motives of Africans exploiting and enslaving other Africans, of powerful people using less powerful people for gain.

Ossei is beaten for his failure to show proper respect for tradition. He declares himself a free man who will choose his own bride. His mother sympathizes but does not condone his defiance. He leaves his village in the middle of the night, after refusing to accede to his father's wishes. Before traveling very far, he hears the cries from his village as it is raided and destroyed by fierce amazon warriors that are the trained killers of Adanggaman. He returns to find his father, girlfriend, and betrothed murdered. His mother has been taken captive. Until this time, life has ebbed and flowed according to the natural rhythms of the seasons, of farming, fishing, and daily tasks of living, all accompanied by the unending beat of harmony in the music.

Set in the late 1600's, this tale is not about white Europeans and Americans buying and selling Africans for slaves, although it is clear that is the end market. It is about the complicity of Africans in this endeavor. In this case, Adanggaman, a cruel tribal chief whose greedy appetites are excelled only by the brutality he will apply to satiate them.

After the raid, all is changed. In his pursuit of the captives and his quest to free his mother, Ossei behaves according to the code of honor he has grown up with. The reaction of Adanggaman is something he is not prepared for. Ossei is behaving with respect for the tradition that he so recently rejected. Adanggaman does not share this respect. He is the menacing go-between whose negotiations with slave traders will defeat them all.

Ossei's mother is a strong and fearless woman and we sense the bond between them based on their similar natures. She pays dearly for her open ridicule of Adanggaman. One of the female warriors, Naka, was stolen as a child by Adanggaman and becomes an ally to Ossei. Their attempt to escape and live a simple, free life is soon thwarted.

If history is to serve, there must be a place for all the fragments that make up the whole story. This film details a piece that some are likely to feel uncomfortable with. The director, a native African from the Ivory Coast, lends considerable credibility, simply by virtue of his race. He wants to tell the truth. He has made a bold and provocative movie.