GriGris

GRIGRIS features the unconventional talents of first-time actor Souleymane Démé from Burkina Faso. A Central African “Saturday Night Fever”-style performer, Souleymane gets down on the floor in the village club at night with an astonishingly vigorous dance. Astonishing because the easygoing Souleymane, known by his nickname GriGris, has a withered leg and walks with a shocking limp. Director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun explores the upright character of this man, who works hard at many jobs to support his impoverished mother and ailing stepfather. So dedicated is he to providing for his family that he falls in with a band of gasoline smugglers, in what proves to be a very dangerous game. Will his love for the ravishing Mimi bring him down or lift him up? This unusual dance film/love story/thriller was shot in N'Djamena in Chad and features some great music from Senegalese composer Wasis Diop. (In French and Arabic with subtitles) —B.B.