ENCOUNTERS 2024: AL DJANAT, THE ORIGINAL PARADISE

Every year since our founding in 2010, The Bioscope has proudly hosted screenings of The Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. Now over 25 years old as a festival, Encounters returns to The Bioscope once again with screenings from 21 June - 30 July. Tickets are R80. For more information on the festival as a whole, please visit encounters.co.za

SEE THE FULL BIOSCOPE SCHEDULE FOR ENCOUNTERS HERE

AL DJANAT, THE ORIGINAL PARADISE

Chloé Aïcha Boro| France/Burkina Faso/Benin/Germany | 2023 | 84 min

Upon the passing of her Uncle Ousmane during his pilgrimage to Mecca, director Chloé Aïcha Boro returns to her home country of Burkina Faso to document the familial disputes surrounding land ownership and the inheritance of his Coulibaly estate. The passing of Ousmane, who was a respected elder in the community and a figure of Mandingo Islam, becomes a catalyst for exploring the conflicts between traditional Islamic values and imported European law. Filmed within a period of five years, the Al Djanat follows the lives of Ousmane’s family members as they navigate the conflict of deciding the fate of his legacy. Boro provides a tender and complex portrayal of family, faith and tradition in the face of the shifting values and priorities of the modern age.