Saved events

Zan Boko (12A*) + Live Poetry Reading

Chronic Youth Film Festival

,Cinema 3
A man stands in front of a thatched roof mud hut, holding a clay pot, with a confused look on his face.

Gaston Kaboré’s masterpiece is a celebration of ancestral traditions and searing commentary on rapid gentrification and state-controlled media.

At once a celebration of ancestral traditions in agrarian Burkinabé societies, and a searing commentary on rapid gentrification and state-controlled media, Gaston Kaboré’s Zan Boko deserves to be heralded as a masterpiece of contemporary African cinema.

In the Mooré language of Burkina Faso, Zan Boko translates to ‘place where the placenta is buried’, symbolising each generation's sacred bond with the land. 

Kaboré’s sensitive, and at times satirical film follows Tinga, a rural farmer attempting to defend his native land from absurd postcolonial urban expansion, and Yabré, a headstrong TV journalist facing censorship from the corrupt government as he tries to expose the injustice Tinga’s community is facing. 

Before the screening, there will be a poetry reading from Barbican Young Poet, Rachel Lewis.

Tagged with: Cinema Chronic Youth Film Festival 2024

Burkina Faso, 1988, Gaston Kaboré, 102min, 12A

Content Warnings: Conflict and Disputes.

We’re delighted to be showcasing this rarely seen archive film and have endeavoured to find the best materials available for this screening. Please note that the film was made in 1988 and the onscreen resolution may be lower than usual cinema releases.  

Give a year of art, music, film and theatre

They'll enjoy free entry to all exhibitions, discounts, no booking fees, priority booking, Members' events, our Members' Lounge and more (T&Cs apply)
Gift Membership

Cinema 3