{"id":149656,"date":"2021-02-02T19:34:41","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T00:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/?p=149656"},"modified":"2021-02-02T19:34:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T00:34:43","slug":"sundance-review-night-of-the-kings-an-ode-to-the-power-of-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/sundance-review-night-of-the-kings-an-ode-to-the-power-of-storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"Sundance Review: \u2018Night of the Kings,’ An Ode to the Power of Storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2018Night of the Kings\u2019<\/strong> is one of two films featured in this year\u2019s Sundance \u2018Spotlight\u2019 category, a spot reserved for exceptional films which have already played elsewhere in the world. Directed and written by\u00a0acclaimed French-Ivorian writer-director\u00a0Philippe Lac\u00f4te, \u2018Night of the Kings<\/a>\u2019 weaves the story of a young man (Kon\u00e9 Bakary) sent to \u201cLa Maca,\u201d a prison in the middle of an Ivory Coast forest ruled by its inmates. His arrival aligns with the rising of the red moon, and at the behest of the institution\u2019s ailing leader, he is appointed as the new \u201cRoman\u201d and in order to survive, must compel the other prisoners with his mystical storytelling\u2014 until sunrise. Sundance Review: \u2018Night of the Kings,’ An Ode to the Power of Storytelling<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the only prison in the world run by an inmate and governed by its own laws, codes and beliefs, the reimagined \u201cLa Maca\u201d serves as a captivating backdrop to a story inspired by Philippe Lac\u00f4te\u2019s intimate connection to the prison. During a Q&A, Lac\u00f4te shared that as a child, he traveled to “La Maca” once a week to visit his mother who was imprisoned for political reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLa Maca is a very open prison and as a child\/visitor, one could meet prisoners and talk to them. For me, it was like a kingdom with kings and queens and lackeys. I stored all those childhood memories and used them for this film,\u201d said Lac\u00f4te.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Laetitia Ky appears in Night of the Kings<\/i> by Philippe Lac\u00f4te. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Told in three periods \u2013 the present, past, and future\u2014 the film manages to balance authenticity and newness with real rituals, vivid imagery, rich history, and dignified early African traditions that proudly reflect life pre-colonization. Lac\u00f4te pays homage to the <\/em>essence and beauty of West African culture by depicting a griot \u2013<\/em> a West African troubadour-historian whose role has traditionally been to preserve the genealogies, historical narratives, and oral traditions of their people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kone\u0301
Courtesy of Sundance Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To have never acted prior to being cast as the lead role, Kon\u00e9 Bakary, a 22-year-old linguistics student, shines as a young prisoner fighting to earn his keep. It doesn\u2019t matter whether \u201cRoman\u201d (a title, not a name) is great at storytelling\u2014 he has a bewitching imagination and the instinctive ability to mesmerize, which speaks volumes about Bakary’s commitment to his art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Night of the Kings\u2019 is an enchanting tribute to the power of storytelling and does a masterful job at leaving the viewer with an altered awareness of the history of society, young people who struggle, and the grim reality of life inside West Africa\u2019s most infamous prison. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\t
\n\t
<\/div><\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cast: <\/strong>Kon\u00e9 Bakary, Steve Tientcheu, Rasmane Ouedraogo, Issaka Sawadogo, Digbeu Jean Cyrille, Abdoul Karim Konate, Anzian Marcel, Laetitia Ky, Denis Lavant
Writer-Director:<\/strong> Philippe Lacote
Producers: Delphine Jaquet, Yanick Letourneau, Ernest Konan, Yoro Mbaye
Cinematography: Tobie Marier Robitaille
Production design: Samuel Teisseire
Costume design: Hanna Sjodin
Editing: Aube Foglia
Music: Olivier Alary
Sales: Memento Film Sales<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In French, Dyula, Ivorian Slang
No rating, 93 minutes<\/em> Sundance Review: \u2018Night of the Kings,’ An Ode to the Power of Storytelling<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sundance Review: \u2018Passing,\u2019 Starring Tessa Thompson & Ruth Negga<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Night of the Kings\u2019 is one of two films featured in this year\u2019s Sundance \u2018Spotlight\u2019 category, a spot reserved for exceptional films which have already played elsewhere in the world. Directed and written by\u00a0acclaimed French-Ivorian writer-director\u00a0Philippe Lac\u00f4te, \u2018Night of the Kings\u2019 weaves the story of a young man (Kon\u00e9 Bakary) sent to \u201cLa Maca,\u201d a […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":149665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,16,143,17,20],"tags":[32271,32269,32272,32199,32194,11448,32195,32267,32198,32273,32193,32200,32270,32197,32063,32205,32268],"reaction":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-149656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"category-news","9":"category-read","10":"category-reviews","11":"category-trailers","12":"tag-abdoul-karim-konate","13":"tag-african-tradition","14":"tag-anzian-marcel","15":"tag-denis-lavant","16":"tag-digbeu-jean-cyrille","17":"tag-foreign-film","18":"tag-issaka-sawadogo","19":"tag-ivory-coast","20":"tag-kone-bakary","21":"tag-laetitia-ky","22":"tag-night-of-the-kings","23":"tag-philippe-lacote","24":"tag-rasmane-ouedraogo-2","25":"tag-steve-tientcheu","26":"tag-sundance-2021","27":"tag-sundance-2021-film-festival","28":"tag-west-african"},"yoast_head":"\nSundance Review: \u2018Night of the Kings,' An Ode to the Power of Storytelling - blackfilm.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sundance Review: \u2018Night of the Kings,' An Ode to the Power of Storytelling - a young man is sent to \u201cLa Maca,\u201d a prison ruled by its inmates.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/sundance-review-night-of-the-kings-an-ode-to-the-power-of-storytelling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sundance Review: \u2018Night of the Kings,' An Ode to the Power of Storytelling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sundance Review: \u2018Night of the Kings,' An Ode to the Power of Storytelling - a young man is sent to \u201cLa Maca,\u201d a prison ruled by its inmates.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/sundance-review-night-of-the-kings-an-ode-to-the-power-of-storytelling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"blackfilm.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/blackfilm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-03T00:34:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-03T00:34:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/night-of-the-kings-still-1_50630654152_o.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ellen J. 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