Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up ... In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court has been set up. African civil society spokesmen have started proceedings against the World Bank and the IMF whom they blame for Africa's woes ... Amidst the pleas and the testimonies, life goes on in the courtyard. Chaka does not seem to be concerned by this novel African desire to fight for its rights ...

To listen to Rachel Rawlins interview director Abderrahmane Sissako about his new film Bamako, click on the image below:

Abderrahmane Sissako was born in 1961 in Kiffa, Mauritania. After spending his childhood in Mali and returning briefly to Mauritania, he studied Cinematography at the Moscow Federal Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) from 1983 to 1989.

His many films include The Game (1991), October (1993), Life on Earth (1998), and Waiting for Happiness (2002).