A Griot's Story

A personal film based on the narrative of Adama Drame, an African drummer descending from a family of Drame griots, a caste of old African tradition upholders. The main character narrates in Dioula, the artist's mother tongue. A Griot's Story is the tale of a mature musician. The focus of the film is on Adama Drame's music and his attitude toward life, which keeps him fully aware of his music making mission. Adama Drame is a contemporary griot, albeit orthodoxly traditional, he is a contemporary African who forcefully defends and defenselessly looses his identity. An African who is exposed to economic and cultural colonialism. An African who resists the lures of an artistic career in Western Europe, although he has often worked there for 25 years. A man who looks after his own tradition and culture. Above all, a proud African in both Paris and Burkina Faso.