As was announced last week by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, 9 features have advanced to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 89th Academy Awards. Eighty-five films had originally been considered in the category.

Of note, given this blog’s specific interests, among the nine shortlisted is “Tanna” – a story about star-crossed lovers in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, co-directed by Australian filmmakers Bentley Dean and Martin Butler (their narrative feature debut) – which is representing Australia in the 2017 Foreign Language Film Oscar race. Now we wait to see if it makes the final list when the 5 nominations for the 89th Oscars are announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

Four of the original 85 films that were initially considered came from African countries: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. Unfortunately none of their submissions made the list of 9 semifinalists that have advanced to the next round of voting in the category.

These 4 countries – especially the first 3 – have long cinema histories, and have submitted films for Academy Awards consideration numerous times, going back as far as the 1960s. This realization prompted me to take a look at Africa’s contributions to that specific Oscar category – the Foreign Language Film – since it was first introduced in 1956 (the 29th Academy Awards which were handed out in 1957), when a competitive Academy Award of Merit, known as the Best Foreign Language Film Award, was created for non-English speaking films and has been given annually since then.

Prior to 1956, the Academy presented Special/Honorary Awards to the best foreign language films released in the United States; however, they weren’t handed out regularly, and it wasn’t competitive unlike other categories. Although in the very early years of the ceremony, probably until after WWII, there was really no separate recognition for foreign language films.

And the film that would win the first official Best Foreign Language Oscar was Federico Fellini’s “La Strada,” beginning a trend that would go on to see European films dominate in terms of wins in that category, followed by Asian films, with African films, and films from Latin America, rounding out the list.

I won’t tell you exactly how many African film submissions that have won the Best Foreign Language category, but as I’m sure you can guess, the number is very low.

This post continues a series that will look at each African country (I can tell you that there won’t be that many countries) that has not only submitted films for nomination consideration, but have also seen their submissions make the final cut and be nominated; a series that will be done in alphabetical order, starting yesterday with Algeria (read that post here if you missed it).

Continuing with the list of countries, based on my research, I had to skip over a few to finally get to today’s country, Burkina Faso. Why did I skip Angola, Benin and Botswana? Well, simple. None of those countries has ever submitted a film for Academy Award consideration. I’ll save the reasons why for another post.

Burkina Faso, on the other hand, has submitted a film for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award just once: In 1990, Idrissa Ouedraogo’s “Yaaba” – one of his best-known works.

The film, a morality tale, centers on Bila (played by Noufou Ouédraogo), a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman called Sana (Fatimata Sanga), who has been accused of witchcraft by her village, and has become a social outcast. Undeterred, Bila becomes Sana’s friend, and even calls her “Yaaba” (which means Grandmother). When Bila’s cousin, Nopoko (Roukietou Barry), is sick, a medicine man blames Sana, claiming that she stole the girl’s soul. And as a result, Sana undergoes a long and grueling journey to find a medicine to save Nopoko’s life, which she is successful in doing. But even after that, she’s still thought of as a witch. Eventually Sana dies, and it’s after her death that the real reason why she is so-hated is revealed.

“Yaaba” was a critical darling at Cannes in 1989, where it won the FIPRESCI – a prestigious honor awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics. It also won the Sakura Gold prize of $143,000 at the Tokyo International Film Festival that same year, as well as the top prize at FESPACO. And it was thanks in large part to the international recognition it received that would help get the film distribution in several territories.

It’s a simple, yet powerful, unpretentious film – a timeless coming-of-age story centered on 2 children and the special bond that they share with an elderly woman (who is ostracized by many in her village). It’s beautifully crafted in a graceful, effortless style that achieves a quiet, poetic and even magical quality (making great use of the locale, in long takes) that is very satisfying.

The actors were all amateurs and came from the village location in which the film was shot – a film that’s essentially a plea for tolerance.

Some have argued that it’s maybe the best film ever made by an African director; of course that’s debatable.

But despite all the accolades it received, “Yaaba” never went beyond the Academy’s submission step of the process, and would not make the short list of 5 films that would go on to be nominated in the Foreign Language Film category that year… unfortunately.

And still despite all the accolades, the film isn’t easily accessible (you’d think otherwise); currently, you can buy used copies on VHS and DVD (but only region 2). And Amazon.com reseller has 2 DVD copies of the film and is selling each for $32.

You may also be able to watch it in pieces on YouTube, although I wouldn’t recommend it. This is a film that really deserves something akin to the Criterion Collection treatment, or a restoration and re-release. It was released in a very limited run in the USA by New Yorker Films and grossed $55,000. I sent them an email asking for info on the film’s whereabouts; when I receive a reply, I’ll update this post.

Watch the first 10 minutes of “Yaaba” below (with subtitles).