Sia, The Dream of the Python

Kaya Maghan, the despotic king of Wagadou, follows the instructions of his priest by ordering the religious sacrifice to the Python God of Sia Yatabaree, the virgin daughter of a notable family.

A gift of gold equivalent to Sia’s weight is given to her family as compensation for surrendering their daughter for the sacrifice.

[1] The inspiration of Sia, le rêve du python is a seventh-century myth of the Wagadu people of Western Africa, which was adapted into the play La légende du Wagudu vue par Sia Yatabéré by Mauritanian writer Moussa Diagana.

"[4] Elizabeth Zimmer of the Village Voice praised the timeless nature of the film’s plot, observing that "the subtitled costume drama is set in a remote African empire before cell phones, guns, and the internal combustion engine, but the politics that thump through it are as timely as tomorrow.

"[5] Sia, le rêve du python was released in the U.S. on DVD in 2007 as a double-feature with another Burkinabé film, Tasuma, The Fighter.