Issa le Tisserand explained

Issa le Tisserand
Director:Idrissa Ouedraogo
Producer:Mario Gariazzo, Les Films de l'Avenir Ministère de la Coopération (Francia), Direction du Cinéma du Burkina Faso
Starring:Ernest Ouedraogo, Assétou Sanfo
Runtime:20 minutes
Country:Burkina Faso
France
Cinematography:Sékou Ouedraogo
Editing:Arnaud Blin, Christine Delorme
Music:Moustapha Thiombiano

Issa le Tisserand (in English: Issa the weaver) is a 1985 Burkinabé film directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo. The film was awarded as the best documentary at the ninth Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO).[1] [2]

Synopsis

Issa is a traditional weaver in Burkina Faso who loves his trade. However, so as not to lose his clientele and continue making enough to keep his wife, Issa finds himself forced to sell Western clothes. He buys a mask and ready-to-wear clothing and proceeds to make a fortune.

Shot in 1984, a year after Thomas Sankara’s rise to power, the film illustrates the Chief of State’s motto: "Let’s use products from Burkina Faso!" and portraits the disappearance of indigenous craft due to westernization.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Film card: Issa Le Tisserand. 2021-06-25. Torino Film Fest. en-US.
  2. VIEYRA. Paulin Soumanou. 1987. Fespaco 87. Présence Africaine. 143. 3. 190–194. 10.3917/presa.143.0190. 24351538. 0032-7638.
  3. Pfaff. Francoise. 1992. Five West African Filmmakers on Their Films. Issue: A Journal of Opinion. 20. 2. 31–37. 10.2307/1166989. 1166989.