Skirt Power (1997)

A group of woman in an African village finds a mystical mask. Using the mask, they reverse gender roles, women act like men, and men act like women.

Director:

Adama Drabo

Writers:

Adama Drabo (play), Adama Drabo (screenplay)

Stars:

Fanta Berete, Oumu Berthé, Yamadou Cissé

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Fanta Berete	...	Yamènè
Oumu Berthé	...	(as Dumu Berté)
Yamadou Cissé
Kani Coulibaly	...	(as Kani Coulibary)
Fanta Coulibary
Bako Dagnon
Sidy Diabate
Nana Diabaté
Chaka Diarra
Konimba Diarra
Maimouna Hélène Diarra	...	Timbé
Mamadou Diarra
Baniama Diawara
Bouba Diawara
Djeneba Diawara

Storyline

A group of woman in an African village finds a mystical mask. Using the mask, they reverse gender roles, women act like men, and men act like women.

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Plot Keywords:

matriarchy | role reversal | male female relationship | gender confusion | gender conflict | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on a Dogon legend.

User Reviews

"Skirt Power" works on many levels, in different ways for different audiences

The title of this well-produced mythic story from Mali translates as "Skirt Power". For its domestic audience, the story is probably highly comical. For an audience in the industrialized world, the comic aspect is less important. It's a nice, well-told story with a very clear point: women deserve an equal say with men in the way their and their families lives are led. Taafé Fanga makes this simple though profound point by connecting contemporary reality with the collective memory of the not-so-distant past and from there to the mythic origins of the Dogon people and their culture of masks, dance and legend. The Dogon of course are one of the world's great mystery peoples, whose ancient cosmology is based on the 50-year cycle of the Star Sirius B - the existence of which was not discovered by Western Science until the 1960s.

In any case, the drama revolves around a role reversal of the sexes, with men and women reversing their respective characteristic roles and mannerism. The really interesting aspect of this reversal for me was the way that each sex accepted its new role as a fait accompli; a nice commentary on the arbitrary nature of sex roles (in Mali and everywhere else).

An added bonus to this charming film is the high production values - top-notch photography and editing, well-paced, beautiful. Not a perfect film by any means, but a strong production which can stand side-by-side comparison with a major studio release from any country.

Details

Country:

France Germany Mali

Language:

Kaado Bambara

Release Date:

4 March 1999 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Die Herrschaft der Röcke

Filming Locations:

Mali

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atriascop Paris, C.N.P.C., Taare Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1