(Photo – Cineworx)
CAPITAINE THOMAS SANKARA ****
This important documentary should not be missed. Swiss director Christophe Cupelin takes us back to the mid-1980s when Thomas Sankara, a courageous leader in Africa, decided to lead his impoverished country of Burkina Faso to productive independence and away from the usual colonial acquiescence to the wealthy and powerful West. In this case, the adversary seemed to be the France of Mitterrand, who, as a left-wing politician, should have been more open to the idealism of this brilliant revolutionary. A man of the people, one who worked tirelessly with his countrymen to build for a better future, Sankara surrounded himself with loyal friends, never afraid to be among his constituents. Nor was he afraid to carry his message of hope for a better Africa to the outside world, as he did so eloquently at a UN session in NY. Cupelin has put together an array of historical documents, recordings and amateur footage to bring to life a few years of independent pride, before the powers-to-be snuffed it out.
(vo French)
