26.09.24, 20:30, Hyènes (1992)

When elderly Linguere Ramatou revisits her home village of Colobane after a long time, there is an uproar among the community. Indeed, Linguere is said to be richer than the World Bank by now, with a fortune that could bail out corrupt and poverty-stricken Colobane. To get into Linguere's good graces, the village elects her former lover, Dramaan Drameh, as mayor. Against everyone's surprise, however, Linguere comes up with a provocative proposal: she will hand over her fortune to the village in exchange for executing Dramaan, who left her pregnant at the age of 17 and condemned her to poverty.

While Lingueres actions lead to a tearing atmosphere of opportunism and betrayal, it becomes clear that her personal intentions are little different from the international financial organisations that bribe African elites with large sums of money to rob countries of their resources. Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambety based Hyènes on the Swiss play Der Besuch der alten Dame (1956), but adapted it to a West African setting. The result is a satirical portrait of neo-colonialism and consumerism that still leaves room for emotion.