One of the great revelations of recent African cinema is Mali's very talented Cheick Oumar Sissoko. Following his impressive feature debut (Garbage Boys, SFIFF 1987), fans have eagerly awaited this recently completed second feature. In Bambara finzan means "rebellion," a most fitting title for this story of two women steadfastly resisting tradition. After the death of her husband, Nanyuma refuses to bow to ancestral protocol by marrying her brother-in-law. The younger Fili tries to escape the ritual of female circumcision. Sissoko deftly balances widely divergent points of view: the determined struggle of some women, the obedient tolerance of others, and the bewilderment of men in these times of transition. Finzan's primary strength resides in the director's ability to temper a serious subject with compassion and humor. As in Garbage Boys, children are omnipresent, humorously mimicking old parental beliefs while siding with the mother. Most importantly, they are the optimistic note of changes to come. Sissoko's fine script subtly illustrates relations and conflicts between men and women, women amongst themselves, and finally the small community and the powerful state. Lively, funny and sharp, Finzan is dedicated to the African woman. It shared the Jury Award last year at Nantes. --Marie-Pierre Macia