In the shared courtyard of a house in Mali's capital, two interlocking trials take place, one describes the disintegration of a couple's marriage, the other the inept and deceitful policies of the World Bank and the IMF; but as pleas for common sense and decency swirl through the building, the simple necessity of life continues to dominate the communal courtyard. Both a beautifully observed drama and a keenly knowing satire, Bamako is an eminently watchable piece of modern African cinema. find out more...

The acclaimed new film from the legendary director Ousmane Sembene, widely regarded as the father of African cinema, brilliantly tackles his most controversial subject to date - female circumcision. In a small village in Burkina Faso, four young girls have fled the ritual of 'purification' and seek protection - moolaadé - from Collé, a circumcised woman who helped her own daughter escape excision seven years earlier. Collé grants the girls sanctuary, much to the consternation of those villagers find out more...