A Thousand Suns (Mille Soleils) - True/False Film Fest

A Thousand Suns (Mille Soleils)

In 1973, Magaye Niang starred in the landmark Senegalese film Touki Bouki. Magaye played a young cattle herder with dreams of escaping to Europe. With Josephine Baker’s “Paris, Paris” on loop, the film tracks him and his lover (Mareme Niang) as they drive to the Port of Dakar in hopes of boarding a ship to France. Forty years later, Magaye is still herding cattle in Dakar. As an anniversary screening of Touki Bouki nears, he wanders through his hometown and comes to terms with his legacy. ATex Ritter song replaces “Paris, Paris” as Magaye wonders what became of Mareme. Mati Diop, niece of Touki Bouki director Djibril Diop Mambéty and an exciting director in her own right, creates a dreamy, moving chimera that gracefully floats between reality and fantasy. Plays with “Vegas” (dir. Lukasz Konopa, 24 min.). (CB)
Director: Mati Diop
Runtime: 1:09
In-person: director Lukasz Konopa ( “Vegas” short)
Fest Year: 2014
Forty years after starring in one of his country’s most famous films, a Senegalese cattle herder wanders Dakar and reflects on his legacy in this dreamy chimeric work. Plays with “Vegas.”