A premier as big as the baobab

August 24th, 2012

A powerful new voice from Africa’s young generation, Grand Comme Le Baobab (Tall as the Baobab Tree) is making its World Premier in the First Films World Competition at the Montreal World Film Festival. 
 Filmed in a remote African village with a cast of local actors, Grand Comme Le Baobab brings to the screen voices that have never been heard before. The film is inspired by true stories from the 23-year-old director’s documentary work in Senegal, nominated for a 2011 Student Academy Award.
Grand Comme Le Baobab tells the touching and inspiring story of Coumba, the first girl to leave her family’s remote village — where meals are prepared over open fires and water is drawn from wells— to attend school in the bustling city. But when an accident suddenly threatens her family’s survival, Coumba’s father decides to sell Debo, Coumba’s 11-year-old sister, into an arranged marriage. Torn between loyalty to her elders and her dreams for the future, Coumba hatches a secret plan to rescue her young sister from a fate she did not choose.
The first international feature film in the Pulaar language, Grand Comme Le Baobab gives voice to the passions, heartbreaks and hopes of countless young people in rural Africa coming of age in a rapidly changing world.
Grand Comme Le Baobab was filmed entirely on location in the village of Sinthiou Mbadane, Senegal. The film features a striking ensemble cast of local villagers playing roles that mirror their actual lives, poignantly depicting a family struggling to find its footing at the outer edge of the modern world… where questions of right and wrong are not always black and white.
The lead role of Coumba is played by Dior Kâ, who was the first person in her family to ever attend school. Dior stars alongside her actual little sister in a breakout performance that blends the divide between fiction and reality.
“I wanted to tell a story that captures the emotions of the old and new worlds colliding. ‘Grand comme le Baobab’ explores the tensions and quiet victories that come with change,” says the director. “My hope is that by opening up such an intimate window into village life, the film will move people to look past cultural differences and empathize with the story's deep feelings of love, hope, and sacrifice."

Screenings will take place on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m., Aug. 28 at 9:30 p.m., Aug. 30 at 12:20 p.m. and August 31at 12:10 p.m., all at Cinéma Quarter Latin 14 - 350 Emery Street.
Tickets are available at http://www.ffm-montreal.org