WOMEN OF WAALO / ANIMATION (in process)
Short animated film based on an old Senegalese true story from 1820. 'Woman of Waalo' is a story about self-determination.
CREDITS
Production: Crossroads Docs
Scenario: Fiona van Heemstra
Art work: Machteld Aardse
Animation: Hanneke van der Linden
Research & idea: Aida Grovestins
Sound: Assane Thiam & Julien Grossmann
PRESENTATIONS / SCREENINGS
GUM, group exhibition, De Cacaofabriek Helmond, 2018
Dropstuff, Public Space, Eindhoven, Amersfoort, Hilversum - http://dropstuff.nl/project/de-baobabboom/
NBF at Lab 111 Amsterdam
Webster University Leiden
The Bookstore Project, Amsterdam
Studio Aardse, Amsterdam
INFO
'Women of Waalo' is a history of resistance. The Queen and Princesses of Waalo were acclaimed as strong leaders, governors and judges and called Linguères. In 1820, on the verge of being kidnapped during a massive, surprise attack by Arabian slave traders, the women of Waalo chose to remain masters of their own fate and committed suicide collectively, by self-immolation. This supreme act has become a national symbol of self-determination and it still speaks emphatically to the imagination of Senegalese people today.
The old baobab tree, ‘Guy Galla’ (beautiful lady) witnessed the original horror and functions as a powerful bridge between past and present in the film; a storyteller and a silent source of collective knowledge.
