With a stunning mix of the surreal and the naturalistic, Djibril Diop Mambéty paints a vivid, fractured portrait of Senegal in the early 1970s. In this French New Wave-influenced fantasy drama, two young lovers long to leave Dakar for the glamour and comforts of France, but their escape plan is beset by complications both concrete and mystical.

Characterised by a dream-like quality that is further underscored by the film’s striking imagery, Touki Bouki presents colours and textures rarely depicted with such rawness in Western cinema, presenting a fresh and original depiction of twentieth-century Africa.

Contains a scene of animal slaughter which some viewers may find distressing.

Notes by David O’Mahony