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Yeelen

Turkish title: Aydınlık
1987 · 1 h 45 min
Directed by Souleymane Cissé
DramaFantasy

Cast

Issiaka Kane Aoua Sangare Niamanto Sanogo

Plot

A young man, Nianankoro, with magical powers, sets out to escape from his father, a powerful sorcerer who wants to kill him. Carrying a magical wooden pestle given by his mother, he travels through the Mali countryside, meeting a tribe he helps and an uncle, before a final confrontation. Souleymane Cissé's 1987 film, drawn from Bambara myth, won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and was one of the first African films to gain wide international recognition.

Sinekatalog’s take

Souleymane Cissé's Malian epic follows a young man with magical powers fleeing his sorcerer father. Mythic and visually stunning, with a sacred pestle and desert landscapes, it won the Cannes Jury Prize and is a landmark of African cinema.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 6.9 / 10 (3,059 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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