The 29th Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) wrapped up on March 1, awarding its top honor, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, to Katanga, the Dance of the Scorpions. Directed by Burkinabe filmmaker Dani Kouyaté, the film claimed five awards, including the festival’s most prestigious prize, presented by Burkina Faso’s President, Ibrahim Traoré.
The film, inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, tells the story of King Pazouknaam, who appoints his cousin Katanga as army leader after a failed coup. However, Katanga betrays him, seizes power, and changes the kingdom’s fate. Made on a budget of over 400 million CFA francs, the movie was filmed entirely in Burkina Faso.
Besides the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, Katanga, the Dance of the Scorpions won the FDCT Special Prize, the UEMOA Special Prize for feature-length fiction, the Sembène Ousmane Prize from the Ecobank Foundation, and the Paulin Soumanou Vieyra African Critics Prize. Its success solidifies Kouyaté’s place among Africa’s top filmmakers.
FESPACO will return for its 30th edition from February 27 to March 6, 2027, promising another grand celebration of African cinema.
