Sankara's Orphans 2018
Distributed by Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Laurent Bocahut and Sébastien Tézé
Directed by Géraldine Berger
Streaming, 84 mins
Middle School - General Adult
Burkina Faso; Cuba; International Relations; Postcolonialism
Date Entered: 06/03/2022
Reviewed by Kara Van Abel, Reference Librarian & Liaison to the Collat School of Business, University of Alabama at BirminghamThe film, Sankara’s Orphans, tells the stories of children who traveled from their home country of Burkina Faso, located in Africa, to Cuba for vocational training. In the 1980s, the revolutionary and President, Thomas Sankara, sent away these 600 children in hopes that they would return with knowledge of skilled trades to improve living conditions in Burkina Faso. Not long after the children arrived in Cuba for their training and education, Sankara was assassinated, and a coup led their home country in a different direction. This resulted in a period of years where the children were unsettled and directionless. Sometimes they were cut off from their families with no clear way home. When they completed their education and returned to Burkina Faso as young adults, they were dispersed and distrusted. Now over 30 years later many of these former students are still unable to put their training into practice.
Through the use of interviews, archival footage, and historical photographs, the film provides a look at present day Burkina Faso and the impact that Thomas Sankara had on the lives of these “orphans.” Just as the students returned to their home country and were unable to finish the work of Thomas Sankara, the film finishes without providing a satisfying ending. Burkina Faso remains stuck in the past. Some former students have put their skills to use and fulfilled Sankara’s dream of improving the lives of their fellow citizens, however it is clear that much of their training has been wasted.
It’s a personal look at a story that isn’t very well known. Audiences interested in post colonialism in Africa will find the documentary especially beneficial, however details on politics in Burkina Faso are not discussed. Just as the name suggests, the focus here is entirely on Sankara’s Orphans and their continued hope of a better future for their country.
Awards:Grand Prize for Documentary, Cotonou International Digital Cinema Festival 2020; Jury Prize, International Film Festival of Pessac 2019
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