The Global Griot : Sissako's Cinematic Journey
Black Tea / Black Tea
Abderrahmane Sissako
Director's bio
Abderrahmane Sissako
Abderrahmane Sissako (born Oct 13, 1961, Kiffa, Mauritania) … Filmography highlights: Life on Earth (1998), Waiting for Happiness (2002), Bamako (2006), Timbuktu (2014), Black Tea (2024). Black Tea premiered in the Berlinale competition, marking Sissako’s return after a decade.
Synopsis
On her wedding day in Abidjan, Aya says “no,” choosing a self-directed life that leads her to Guangzhou, China, where she works in a tea export shop run by Cai. Their relationship unfolds across cultural, linguistic, and generational lines, threatened by memories and social prejudice. Sissako adopts a low-tempo, contemplative mode: extended quiet scenes, dreamlike interludes, and glances that carry the weight of unspoken history. The romance is less about plot turns than about negotiating space—how two people build a shared rhythm amid the frictions of diaspora and commerce. The film’s gentle optimism about cross-cultural links is tempered by the realities of migration, family obligation, and the fragility of trust.
Details of Cast
Nina Mélo, Chang Han, Wu Ke-Xi, Michael Chang, Li-Ben Pei-Jen Yu, Mei Wei Huang, Zhi-Ying Zhu
Details of Crew
Cinematography: Aymerick Pilarski, Editor: Nadia Ben Rachid, Music: Armand Amar
Producer Details
David Gauquié, Julien Deris, Denis Freyd, Kessen Fatoumata Tall, Jean-Luc Ormières
Writer Details
Kessen Tall; Abderrahmane Sissako
Stills
Categories
- International Competition (14)
- Homage (11)
- World Cinema (57)
- Country Focus : Vietnam (5)
- Indian Cinema Now (7)
- Kaleidoscope (8)
- Malayalam Cinema Today (12)
- Restored Classics (5)
- Opening Film (1)
- Special Screening (1)
- Midnight Screening (2)
- Spirit of Cinema (1)
- Signatures In Motion (4)
- Festival Favourites (13)
- Viva el Cine: Latin American Films (5)
- Saeed Mirza Retrospective (3)
- Ritwik Ghatak Centenary (4)
- Youssef Chahine Retrospective (3)
- Garin Nugroho: The Poetic Archipelago (5)
- The Suvarna Legacy : Suvarna Chakoram (17)
- Her Lens Her Voice (5)
- The Pantheon of IFFK: Lifetime (10)
- From Under The Olive Tree (4)
- 50 Years of Rajeevnath (1)
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