| Producer: | Sahelis Productions |
| Starring: | Sotigui Kouyaté |
| Runtime: | 94 minutes |
| Country: | Burkina Faso |
| Language: | French |
(English title: Keita! Voice of the Griot) is a 1995 Burkinabé film directed by Dani Kouyaté and starring Sotigui Kouyaté. It is an adaptation of the first third of the 13th-century Epic of Sundiata, interspersed with scenes of a griot telling the story to a young child.
Keïta follows Mabo Keïta (Dicko), A 13-year-old boy who lives in a bourgeois family in Ouagadougou and attends a good school. He meets Djeliba Kouyate a griot who wants to tell the young Keita the origin of his name being related to Sundjata Keita. Kouyate begins his history with the myth of Mandeng creation As all living beings gather on the newly formed Earth a person declares to the masses that he wants to be their king. The old griot tells how Keita’s family descended from the buffalo, the blackbirds still look at him, and how people have roots that lie at the bottom of the earth.[1]
Dani Kouyaté directed a number of short films before the release of Keïta, his first full-length feature. The film's working title was Keita: From Mouth to Ear. It was shot in the towns of Ouagadougou, Sindou, and Ouahabou.The assistant director was Alidou Badini.[2]
Keïta! received the Best First Film Prize from the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Fespaco) and was awarded the Junior Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The New York Times praised the film, claiming it "succeeds admirably in keeping... history alive." In a 1995 interview, Kouyate reflected on the experience and commenting on traditional society, saying: