African traditions are called into question through the difficulties of a young intellectual traumatised by too strict an upbringing in Africa.

mit / estrelado / starring / avec
Timité Bassori, Mary Vieyra, Danielle Alloh, Emmanuel Diaman, Tim Sory

um filme de / a film by / un film de / ein film von
Timité BASSORI

Ivory Coast, 1969, Fiction, 1h17 min | DCP (4K), 16mm | B&W

Timité Bassori wanted African cinema to unsettle the Africans. Here, the Western virus of Freudian psychology is graphically introduced into a story laid out in traditional African terms. Yet African traditions are clearly being called into question through the difficulties of a young intellectual from the Ivory Coast, played by Bassori himself, who apparently is traumatised by an overly strict upbringing in Africa. When he returns home, after a long period in Europe, he has to face up to the difficulties of readjusting to his society and to his strong sexual inhibition, made manifest by the recurring appearance of a woman brandishing an impressive knife, which paralyzes him with terror, and prevents him from having relations with women. He turns to traditional healers and medicine, but to no avail. Like in that other famous woman-with-a-knife film, he must finally confront the image of his mother.
IFFR 2010

Version restaurée 4K (en 2019)
- Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata
- The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project.
- FEPACI (Pan African Federation of Filmmakers)
- UNESCO

Restored in 2019 by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

This restoration is part of the African Film Heritage Project, created by The Film Foundation, FEPACI and UNESCO - in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna - to help locate, restore, and disseminate African cinema.

NOTES ON THE RESTORATION:
The 4K restoration of La femme au couteau was made from the 35mm original camera and sound negatives. The original camera negative was damaged by mold, dirt, and scratches, and therefore required an extensive amount of digital restoration. Director Timité Bassori supervised the picture grading.

Titles | Titres :
La femme au couteau
The Woman with the Knife
The Knife Woman

International Title | Titre International (anglais) :
The Woman with the Knife

Running Time | Durée : 1h17 (77 mins)
Year | Année : 1969
Color | Couleurs : B&W (Black and White) | N&B
Country of production | Pays de production : Ivory Coast | Côte d'Ivoire
LANGUAGE: French with English subtitles


CAST | ACTRICES-ACTEURS :
Timité BASSORI................................ The Man - The Man in a Smoking | L'homme qui fume
Mary Vieyra (Marie VIEYRA)................. The Woman with the Knife | La femme au couteau
Danielle ALLOH.................................... The Girlfriend | La petite amie
Emmanuel DIAMAN...................................
Bertin KOUAKOU.......................................


REGISSEUR / REALIZADOR / DIRECTOR / RÉALISATEUR :
Timité BASSORI

Screenwriter | Scénariste :
Timité Bassori

Cinematographer | Directeur Photo :
Ivan Baguinoff

Editing | Montage :
Guy Ferrant


PRODUÇÃO / PRODUCTION / PRODUCTION :
Société Ivoirienne de Cinéma

CONTACT (Print Copy / Diffusion du film, Festivals)
- Cineteca di Bologna : DCP
- Cinémathèque Afrique (Institut Français, Paris) : 16 mm

DISTRIBUTION
France : Carlotta Films | Visa d'exploitation (France) : 54185

STREAMING
Prime Video


FESTIVALS (Selection)
2010 | 39th IFFR - International Film Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands | 5 February 2010 | www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/la-femme-au-couteau/
* Signals- Where Is Africa


Fuente / Fontes / Our Source / Quelle / Nos Sources (MAIS INFORMAÇÕES / READ MORE / PLUS D'INFOS) :
- Africiné Magazine
- https://cinetecadibologna.it/
- https://carlottafilms.com/films/femme-au-couteau-la/
- www.institutfrancais.com/fr/magazine/portrait/bassori-timite
- www.film-foundation.org/world-cinema?sortBy=country&sortOrder=1&page=1#
- https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/en/film/la-femme-au-couteau/
- www.filmafrica.org/films/the-knife-woman-la-femme-au-couteau/
- https://adrc-asso.org/patrimoine/diffusion/films-et-cycles/la-femme-au-couteau
- www.senscritique.com/film/la_femme_au_couteau/39728541
- https://cinebel.dhnet.be/film/1024967/La%20Femme%20au%20couteau
- https://ifcinema.institutfrancais.com/fr/movie?id=5165dd09-ac01-fa4c-2661-a16eb4951460
Updated by Thierno DIA, 15 Jan 2025