Volunteer reflections on Banel & Adama

Set to the hum of cicadas under Senegal's bright sun, Banel & Adama depicts a quest for autonomy away from rigid cultural expectations. Banel and Adama, despite only being teenagers, face immense societal pressures. Adama must take his dead brother's place as chief of the village and marry his widow, Banel, who is repeatedly told to stick to her duties and provide her new husband a son. As the story unfolds, the audience is treated to Banel’s metamorphosis, as she toxically dances between conformity and self-realisation.

As summarised by writer/director Ramata-Toulaye Sy in her Q&A, Banel’s ruthless ambition takes her from a Juliet archetype “to more of a Lady Macbeth.” Though Banel is mean, flawed, and complex, Sy sees this as a vast improvement on the helplessness of traditional female protagonists. Her desperate human emotion is set against an endless barren landscape which only amplifies her turmoil, as we watch her descend into madness. When asked about the creative process, Sy said she tried to make paintings within her film, transitioning “from Impressionism to Expressionism”. The cinematography dazzles and drips with hues of emancipation, whilst fate subjects Banel and Adama to emotional and physical devastation. Sumandeep Kailey 

Banel & Adama is, as its hazy opening sequence makes clear, a tale mired with the heavy weight of tradition, mythological happenstance, and the expectations of clear gender-roles within a small, rural Senegalese community. Rigorously upheld by those that surround them, Banel and Adama find themselves in constant repudiation of these tethered burdens, enacting a ceaseless struggle that usurps both the image of the people they are supposed to become and the bond others expect them to share. Banel must contend with the trappings of traditional womanhood: her independence becoming jeopardised when she refuses the dynamics of subservience found in the roles of doting mother and wife. Adama finds himself similarly chained, under strict duress by a pressure to uphold his family’s legacy and become chief of the village. 

A treatise on the overlooked sublimity of the African landscape, great pleasure can be found in the film’s dynamic use of colour: one that highlights clothing, fauna, and light. Equally as important is the film’s attention to tactility, touch becoming a crossover between the worlds of myth and ‘reality’. Upon this threshold is where the film finds its foundations, marking acts of transgression that attempt to free the shackled lovers. Alfie White 

Ramata-Toulaye Sy ‘s Magical-Realist Banel & Adama is a feminist, fresh take on the love story trope, which is so often done to death in Western dramas. Contrary to the usual romantic works, this feature takes a dark turn resulting in merciless death, angst and fascinating character arcs. While Banel and Adama’s love is so heavily reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet in the beginning, Banel’s Lady Macbeth side takes over and she is much more complex and fiery than the traditional young woman you’d expect in love stories. In this film, love is not pure and simple like we see in fairytales, but potent, complicated and even dysfunctional. Banel loves Adama with a passion, but their love isn’t entirely accepted by their village, so, being the fire that she is, Banel rejects this and refuses to stand by or remain naïve and helpless. But the climate is also conflicted, fantastically infused in the sound, stunning visuals and narrative motif. With the omen of a flock of birds, symbolic colour palettes, mysterious circumstances, and a pensive soundtrack, the exploration of Magical Realism is a delight. Banel & Adama is truly a captivating debut feature. Robyn Hargreaves 

Before seeing Banel & Adama, I knew two things. It was set in Senegal. And writer/director Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s first full length film. I didn’t need to know more. The film spoke for itself. 

The opening, with its luscious piano music and vibrant colours reassured me that, whatever happened, I was in safe hands. The palette, framing and calm, measured pace of the film promised a beautifully told love story and didn’t disappoint. 

You don’t need to know about Magical Realism or rural Senegal. I didn’t. Banel is a strong, woman who loves Adama with a passion that burns brightly, and she will do anything, and urge Adama to do likewise, to challenge the stifling traditions of their village and culture. This tale is also about climate change in a blameless rural community much less protected from death and disaster than the industrial nations that wrecked our biosphere.   

Banel & Adama is an astonishing debut that I urge everyone to see on a cinema screen. 

After the screening, I discovered that the crew filmed for two months in 50°C heat without electricity or professional actors. That does not make Banel & Adama better, but it makes me eager to see what Ms Sy can achieve in her next feature, given her imagination and ingenuity. Bill Hargreaves 

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Banel & Adama is currently showing at HPPH – showtimes, tickets and more details are available here.