BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA/BINTA ET LA GRAND IDÉE (2004)

Spain, 30 minutes, Language: French with English subtitles, directed by Javier Fesser

Genre: Short Film

Synopsis

Living on the Casamance River in southern Senegal, Binta is a happy young girl who loves her family and enjoys her school. Unfortunately, her older cousin, Soda, is not so lucky. Soda is not allowed to go to school, so Binta and her classmates make a special effort to convince Soda’s father otherwise. Meanwhile, Binta also helps her father with an important mission of his own.

Key Themes

Education
Imagination
Values

Main Characters

Binta – a young, happy Senegalese girl living with her family along the Casamance River.

Sabu Diatta – Binta’s kind and humble father, a fisherman who is concerned with the development of mankind.

Aminata Kamara – Binta’s mother worked in the rice fields with the other mothers in the village

Mr. Souleyman – Sabu Diatta’s (Binta’s father’s) friend who is very proud of his new switch watch and by all that the tubabs (Westerners) have accomplished.

Soda – Binta’s cousin, who wants to go to school but must stay home and work instead.

Soda’s mother, Fatu – Binta’s aunt who picks and sells fruit to merchants. She is cheated out of her money because she doesn’t have enough education.

Soda’s father – He insists that he is in charge and does not allow Soda to go to school.

Teacher – teaches the village children about the richness of mixing, appreciating differences and using their imagination.

Before the Film

• Before beginning the film, ask yourself what type of film you are watching: this is called the genre. Genre means style of film. For example, is the film a feature film (a long film which tells one main story), a short film (usually from a few minutes to half an hour), a documentary or an animation?

• Ask yourself what the title of the film might mean: speculate as to why the filmmakers would have chosen the specific title. After watching the film, try to make sense of the title in context to the film. Compare your understandings about the meaning of the title before and after watching the film.

• Films use lighting, sound, different angles, movement, sequence and timing to convey meaning. Remember to keep these aspects in mind the following when watching a film.

Things to Think and Talk About

• A lot of music was used in Binta and the Great Idea: some with lyrics (word to a song), some instrumental (without lyrics), some joyful, others plaintive. What type of mood did the music create? Did it remind you of something? Did you notice certain points when the music played? Did it enhance your feeling or closeness to the character? Or did you feel it imposed an atmosphere that was unnatural to the scene?

• There were two interwoven plots in Binta and the Great Idea. In your opinion, did the filmmakers do a good job incorporating the two plots? Was it easy to understand? Or did you have to try and figure it out? Did you like this or dislike it? Explain why.

Questions and Discussion Topics

• What were the main themes of the film? Use examples from the film to demonstrate at least three major themes. Did you find any of these themes particularly important to you personally? Why or why not.

• What do you think the most important scene of the film was? What made it so powerful? Describe why you think it was important as well as what techniques were used to create and emphasize its importance: narrative, action, music, sound, lighting, camera work, framing and editing should be considered.

• If you had to eliminate one scene from the film, which would it be? Why would you choose that scene? What do you think would be lost from or change in the film by eliminating that theme?
• What scene was your particular favourite? Briefly describe what you thought the funniest, scariest and saddest scenes in the film were, and what made them this way.

• If you were to recommend Binta and the Great Idea to a friend, why would you recommend it and what would you tell them?

Exercises/Activities

• Write a review of the film, 200-300 words long.

• Create a storyboard to the next scene after the film ended. What happened to the characters? Pick at least three characters and describe what happens to them afterward.

• Write a letter from the point of view of one character to that of another.

• Think of another film (or book) with similar themes and compare how the two films examined the issue and dealt with the issue. Were they similar or did they treat the issue very differently? Which film did you think better represented the theme/issue?

• Write about the film as if it were an event in a newspaper, a fairy tale or myth, or a personal diary of events that had happened to you!

• Draw a map of what you think the location might have looked like.

• Make a character sketch explaining how their appearance represents their character.

• Create a scene broken down into a sequence of six (6) pictures.