A film by Christian Lajoumard – 76′
In Burkina Faso, the art of puppetry is relatively recent. As in most African countries, the traditional puppets were present, then declined until they disappeared. Today, young puppeteers have taken over this practice to give it a new lease of life. The artists create in an environment made up of daily life : children, pets, cooking, laughter, music… This simple life confers to their creative universe a formidable poetry, an energy able to overturn the mountains of difficulties they meet.
A film by Marie-Laure Désidéri and Christian Argentino – 52′
The “Pupi” are puppets with rods which knew a considerable success in Sicily from the XIXth century. The shows are inspired by medieval chansons de geste. Strange impression, in Palermo, to hear about Charlemagne and the Beautiful Angelica! Mimmo Cuticchio and his company Figli d’Arte are the heirs of a family tradition, the last virtuosos of a powerful popular art.
A film by Christian Lajoumard – 52′
Mali is the country that saw the birth of the art of puppetry. Yaya Coulibaly, one of the greatest living puppeteers, is the heir to a centuries-old tradition. With his troupe Sogolon he is one of the most brilliant representatives of African culture and traditions. We discover him in his “house museum” among thousands of puppets, in his daily life and through his magical shows. A film to dream and to let go.
A film by Marie-Laure Désidéri and Christian Argentino – 52′
Puppets have always accompanied the eventful history of Poland. Once a symbol of resistance to the invader, then a propaganda tool, this art is today at the cutting edge of modernity. Through the most creative artists, we discover the emblematic places of this universe: Baj Theatre in Warsaw, National Academy in Bialystock, Pinokio Theatre in Lodz… A journey through time which, through magical shows and authors such as Bruno Shulz or Ignacy Karpowicz, projects us into a universe of masterful poetry.
A film by Jean-Robert Thomann – 52′
Taiwanese puppets have undergone multiple transformations over their 150-year history. They compose today a wonderful kaleidoscope of a great symbolic and aesthetic variety. Through the greatest artists we penetrate the mysteries of a creative universe of infinite diversity. The great master of girdle puppets, Chen-Hsi Huang, is committed to transmitting his art to young people. Television studios are developing a practice oriented towards new media. Young puppeteers, such as Huang Wu Shan, create a new type of theater, resolutely modern… Taoist rituals are not forgotten and are always at the center of this artistic practice, rich of its roots and turned towards the future.
A film by Christian Lajoumard – 52′
In a peripheral district of Lomé, the capital of Togo, Danaye Kanlanfei created in the heart of his house, a place dedicated to puppets. Puppets that he has created over the years and that share the space with the neighborhood children. Danaye, who was the director of the National Puppet Theatre of Togo, spends most of his time in this house. He continues to create and rehearse his shows, to build new puppets, to live day by day a passion that inhabits him since his youth. From Lomé to Dapaong (his home town in northern Togo), the daily life, creations and shows of one of the last African puppet masters.
