Yeelen is an award-winning film from 1987 directed by Souleymane Cisse from Mali. Mr. Cisse and Senegalese Ousmane Sembene are the two most respected film directors from Africa. I have sought African films for years; it's been a frustrating experience. Yeelen is my favorite African film I've seen but I was reluctant to include it based on one viewing many years ago. I recently saw it twice, on dvd. It's truly a one-of-a-kind experience and a masterpiece. I've added it the list of favorites that opened this thread.

Yeelen is truly a "foreign" film. It is an animist creation story that incorporates a conflict between father-and-son practitioners of Komo, an ancient religion of the Bambara culture in what is now Mali. The film takes place in the 14th century, prior to the invasion by Morocco, the colonization by France, and slavery. It displays a circular time orientation and cultural references non-Africans rarely encounter. Animal sacrifice, curses, milk baths, evil eye, animal spirits, purifying springs, posts and totems with unique powers, shamans, chants, strange rituals...you get the idea. Yeelen is extraordinarily beautiful, with precisely composed images bursting with color.

Yeelen was released on dvd last October. Truly enchanting.