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PRINCESSE TÉNÉ

Feature

Production
Future Films
bffuturefilms@gmail.com

Réalisateur
Fabien DAO
Burkina Faso

Producteur
Moustapha SAWADOGO
Burkina Faso

Synopsis

In modern-day Ouagadougou. Téné, queen of the night and small-time crook, returns to the family stable after her father’s death. She finds a way to make a quick buck by using her horses to smuggle drugs for Auntie Dollar, the town’s godmother. Téné is about to become a drug dealer, shaking up the rules of the trade…

Alongside her criminal rise, she will find herself restoring her family’s reputation and restoring horsemanship to its former glory.
In the midst of a political and security crisis, Burkina Faso is on the verge of exploding. In such an unstable context, how far will Téné’s thirst for money and power take her?

Production note

Princesse Téné is Fabien Dao’s first feature-length film, in which he reveals the full scope of his iconographic aesthetic with a strong urban feel. He takes us on a thrilling odyssey through dusty Ouagadougou, where horsemen, drug dealers, barkeepers and characters from local legends and myths intermingle. It’s one of these stories that Fabien tells us in this modern, subtle western to evoke the difficult situation Burkina Faso is currently experiencing; but also to express the nobility that our human feelings should be, even in the face of the most bitter of adversities.

Fabien’s story delicately conveys his personal feelings, turning them into a universal experience with characters who are endearing but capable of weakness, as life itself is.

About us

Les Ateliers de Grand-Bassam is brought to life by Grand-Bassam Project, a non-profit association that embodies excellence in the film and audiovisual industry. The association is an organization of filmmakers, producers and cultural industry professionals from Ivory Coast, the continent and beyond, who help incubate performing arts and audiovisual projects by applying alternative methods of management, production, marketing and distribution in countries across the continent.

Grand-Bassam Project’s main objective is to contribute to the emergence of a solid, internationally competitive African cultural industry, notably through the development of the performing arts and audiovisual sector, capable of contributing to improving the economic impact of culture and consolidating the employability of young people.

Specifically, the objectives of the Grand-Bassam Project are to :

– Implement and consolidate an incubator for cultural projects and professional training workshops for artists and producers from Ivory Coast and other countries on the continent.

– Contribute to the reappropriation by Ivorian cultural players of the conception and governance of cultural policies, in partnership with public decision-makers at national level.

– Contribute to the dissemination of cinematographic works from the continent Formalize and implement a strategy for the implementation of activities, a risk management plan, as well as a monitoring and evaluation plan for all actions.

– Produce and/or co-produce performing arts and audiovisual works and projects for dissemination on the continent and internationally.

– Intensify artistic education initiatives aimed at children, young people and the general public.

Grand-Bassam Project is in the process of launching its program of activities, which include training, production, distribution, image education and consulting for the first edition of the Ateliers de Grand-Bassam. In keeping with its management strategy, the company’s aim is to combine production activities with socio-educational initiatives.

By working closely with sister organizations in Ivory Coast who share the same passion, Grand-Bassam Project will contribute to the future of cinema in Côte d’Ivoire and beyond.

The association capitalizes on the experience acquired over the last ten years by the Ouaga Film Lab, and projects will be carried out with the expertise required to increase the competitiveness of Ivorian and African filmmakers on the world stage.