Sini Cinéma

By Stefan Kaegi, Caroline Barneaud, Lamine Diarra

The audience takes their seats in a kind of cinema auditorium. In front of the screen sits a musician with his kora and some equipment, ready to provide live music for the action.

But there is no film to watch; instead, a live connection is established with the film crew, who appear on the screen: performer and author Diarrah and actor Kassim, who ask themselves questions about the future – and the team behind the camera, Alfou and Souleymane. 

Together, they set out to search for traces of the future in the present of their hometown. And off they go – without cuts or tricks – live through the streets, buildings and courtyards, to the inhabitants of Bamako, before the eyes of the audience and accompanied by the music of Cherif Soumano. Bamako becomes the setting and main character of a Mali-futuristic film!

Sini Cinéma follows in the social and artistic tradition of the Malian theatre collective Les Praticables: artists and residents of the Bamako-Coura neighbourhood shoot a live film. Or is it more like filmed theatre? What if the future of cinema lies in theatre?

 

With: Diarrah Dembélé, Kassim Dagnogo, Alfouseyni Konaté, Souleymane Konaté, Cherif Soumano

 

Sini Cinéma is the second phase of a project that emerged from a workshop organised by Les Praticables in December 2024, in which Stefan Kaegi, Caroline Barneaud, Lamine Diarra, Diarrah Dembélé, Souleymane Konaté, Alfouseyni Konaté and Kassim Dagnogo participated. The next stage of the project is planned for autumn 2026 at Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne and other European theatres. 

Production: Les Praticables de Bamako, Rimini Protokoll, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne,