Irish Film Institute -DIMANCHE À BAMAKO

DIMANCHE À BAMAKO

Director: Marc Antonie Moreau

FRANCE • 2005 • SUBTITLED • COLOUR • DOLBY STEREO • 52 MIN


Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia are a husband and wife team who met at a school for the blind in Mali and have been producing some joyous music together ever since. For years the couple specialised in a simple, rhythmic style of African R&B and jazz funk, embellished with Amadou’s rousing guitar work. Their terrific 2005 album Dimanche à Bamako has been a breakthrough hit, in part because of the involvement of musical maverick Manu Chao. This is not the kind of world-music album that gains a greater audience by diluting the essence of the music; rather, it broadens its appeal by judiciously adding pop-soul elements to a confident traditional base. Directed by Marc Antonie Moreau, this documentary about the making of the album takes us on a behind-the-scenes trip to Mali, to witness the couple at home and their musical encounter with the legendary Chao. The music provides the lifeblood of the film, which features the hits ‘Senegal Fast Food’, ‘La Realite’ and ‘Coulibaly’, plus ‘Kira’, an unreleased live song by Manu Chao. These two special screenings are scheduled in advance of Amadou and Mariam’s appearance at the Olympia on March 2. (Admission to the screenings is €5)

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