The wedding ring

Spoken: Songhoy/Zarma/Hausa/Fulani. Subtitles: English.

A young woman of aristocratic descent recently returned to her hometown of the Sultanate of Damagaran in Niger after completing her high education in Paris. There, she has fallen in love with a young man, also from an aristocratic family from the Emirate of Maiduguri, and plans to get married. There are no objections from her family, but as time goes on, she waits long and hard for his proposal to come, and we follow her life as she interacts with her peers, speaking to them of love, marriage, and relationships in Sahelian society.

In this unique film from Niger, and a female directed film at that, Rahmatou Keïta has crafted a fresh and serene look at a different side of Africa. In The Wedding Ring, you won’t find the Western stereotypes of starving children and violence, rather, a quiet look at Sahelian culture through the eyes of a young girl.

20/4/2018, 21.30, CC De Centrale, Turbinezaal, Kraankindersstraat 2, 9000 Gent