Dakan

Touted as the first queer love story from West Africa, this poignant, unapologetic drama endures beyond the controversy and celebration it received upon its premiere at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. Sory (Aboucar Touré) and Manga (Mamady Mory Camara) feel an irrepressible romantic connection they cannot deny. But after the young men share their authentic feelings with their parents, they are separated and sent in different directions. Sory begins to work in his father’s business, while Manga must spend a year with a traditional healer in the backcountry—and both are firmly encouraged to settle down with women. As Sory and Manga attempt to meet social conventions, it gradually becomes clear that their personal journeys are more parallel than divergent. A rarely screened milestone in queer cinema, Mohamed Camara’s Dakan (Destiny) is a powerful call to listen to—and trust in—one’s heart.