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Den Muso, made in 1975, was Mali’s first feature-length fiction film in the Bambara language, which was immediately banned by the authorities. The film tells the tragic story of a young mute girl who is raped by a man who used to work for her father. Pregnant, she is rejected by her family and the child’s father, who refuses to acknowledge him.
Den Muso was restored by Souleymane Cissé and the Cinémathèque française in 2020, in collaboration with the Cinémathèque Afrique and the Institut français, thanks to the support of Pathé.
This film is presented as part of a Close-up devoted to Souleymane Cissé.
Born in Bamako in 1940, Souleymane Cissé became interested in cinema at the age of 7. After studying in Dakar and Moscow, he returned to Mali in the 1970s and worked as a cameraman/reporter. In 1975, he directed Den Muso (The Young Girl), his first Malian feature film, which landed him in prison. This was followed by Baara (Work) (1977), Finyè (The Wind) (1981) and Yeelen (Brightness) (1987), which won the Jury Prize at Cannes. His last film, Waati (Time) (1995), was also selected for Cannes. Cissé has also produced a number of recent works, including Un Malien à Paris (A Malian in Paris (1999). As a politically conscious director, he is the founder of UCECAO (Union of West African Film and Audiovisual Creators and Entrepreneurs) and was appointed Commander of the National Order of Mali in 2006.