Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. Longing for a home of their own, they have decided to live apart from their families, outside of the village. When Adama informs the village that he won’t accept his blood duty as future chief, the community is disrupted, quickly followed by nature itself. The rains don’t come. Animals die for no reason. People start asking questions. Who’s to blame? A beautiful and beautifully enigmatic work from first-time director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, Banel & Adama explores the drive for individualism in a tightly knit, traditional community. This utterly ravishing film is “an impressive piece of work from a natural filmmaker” (The Guardian).