Finzan (1989) is a movie from Mali. It was written and directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko.
The film is basically a human rights story. Women in rural Mali apparently had almost no rights at all. The movie shows two women trying to get a modicum of justice in two critical areas--genital mutilation and forced marriages.
In the midst of this, a subplot concerns the village mayor defying the corrupt district commissioner. He's evil regarding women, but he's right about the defiance.
Also, there's (to me) crude humor about teasing a developmentally delayed man. (Referred to as "the village idiot.") I know about cultural values. However, what's funny in Mali didn't strike me as funny.
This film will work well on the small screen. Believe it or not, we watched it on an old VHS tape. Maybe it's available on DVD.
The subject of human rights for women is so important that I gave the film a rating of 8. The handful of other reviewers gave it a 6.9.
