tradition vs. modernity

The Condor Daughter (Bolivia) – LALIFF 2026

The Condor Daughter Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

The Condor Daughter is a beautifully shot tale of tradition standing against the threat of expanding globalization. You’ll be transported to the awesomely scenic mountains of the Bolivian Andes and thrown into the Quecha culture of the Totorani community. You’ll follow Clara, a young woman working with her adopted mother as a midwife, as she battles the allure of modernity and fame.

From: Bolivia, South America
Watch: IMDb
Next: Utama, Whale Rider, The Secret of Kells

The Condor Daughter Breakdown

It starts the same way we all enter the world; in childbirth. Clara sings tenderly as a mother pushes her child into the world. The dimly lit room they’re in contrasts with the brightly lit hospital environments endemic to modernity. But the brightness comes in the next shot. As the baby arrives, the images cut to a still shot of the mountains, showing the incredible setting and linking the birth (and the communities lives) to Pachamama – mother nature. This link is built upon throughout the film with majestic shots of the mountains at sunrise and sunset to mark each day and cement the importance of nature to the community. When their crops fail and livestock die, it’s as if this connection has been disturbed, and they look to Clara’s flirtation with modernity as the culprit.

Clara has followed her adopted mother into the midwife profession. As one of the foundations of the cycle of life, midwifery is hugely important to maintaining tradition. Losing cultural control of midwifery destroys a pillar of the Quechua culture, opening up a space for encroaching globalization to exploit. The stakes are made clear in a scene in which a patient says she’s going to deliver her child in the government clinic because of the cash bonus and child benefits this entitles her to. Clara’s mother understands the threat of modernization, but Clara does not. Clara is drawn to the allure of the city and fame. However, like other indigenous films which explore the battle between tradition and modernity, parental inflexibility pushes their kids away. Clara’s personal struggle for freedom mirrors the communities battle to retain their own culture.

The strict parent and modernity vs. tradition narrative feels overly familiar – see Utama, Whale Rider, or even The Secret of Kells – but it’s always engrossing. However, the top reason to watch The Condor Daughter is for the stunning cinematography.

Head to our LALIFF 2026 festival Hub for more reviews from LALIFF 2026.

The Rocket – Cheer for the Family Underdog

The Rocket Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you always like supporting the underdog, you’ll enjoy following ‘Little Balls’ in The Rocket. As he was born a twin, his family think he’s cursed and destined to bring bad luck to the family. What they don’t see is that he’s the future of their traditional way of life. The more they blame him, the more distant their link to their heritage becomes.

From: Laos, Asia
Watch: Trailer, Free on Vudu, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: Whale Rider, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, The Eagle Huntress

Dakan – Homophobia Disrupting the Future of Two Guineans

Dakan Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Dakan is the first Sub-Saharan African film to deal with homosexuality. The focus of the film is the plight of two high school lovers in a society rejects them. They don’t fit into traditional or modern Guinean society, shown through Manga’s ‘traditional’ mother and Sori’s ‘modern’ father. As a result, they’re condemned to a life without love.

From: Guinea, Africa
Watch: YouTube, Vimeo, Kanopy
Next: Jose, I Am Not a Witch, Tanna

The Breakdown

Dakan experienced a lot of protests in Guinea during its production, and once you see the first scene, you’ll understand why. For many countries around the world, homosexuality is taboo or illegal, so to have an opening scene of two men making out in an orange convertible like a scene from an American hetero high school romance is a bit of a shock for the world’s conservative viewers.

The two lovers are both high school students hoping to get into university. They openly show affection for each other at school, where they are largely accepted and left alone, but at home their relationship provides a source of friction for their parents. For Manga’s single mother, she sees Manga’s relationship with Sori as a curse that will deprive her of grandchildren. In contrast, Sori’s father sees Sori’s relationship with Manga as a distraction from his studies and his prosperous future in business.

They also differ in their way of stopping their son’s relationship. Manga’s mum relies on traditional methods, sending Manga away to a traditional witch doctor to be cured. In contrast, Sori’s father, a ‘modern’ businessman, sends Sori to work for him in his company. However, neither route changes how they feel about each other. Their solemn faces throughout the film only emphasizes that there is no place for them in a traditional society founded on the family, or a ‘modern’ society founded on economic growth. There’s no place for their love in Guinea.

Overall Dakan is a good African film that uses homophobia to talk about the common African and third cinema tropes of modernity and tradition. There was a moment in Dakan where I feared the film would turn into an HIV disaster film like Kijiji Changu but fortunately Mohamed Camara doesn’t diminish the relatively progressive portrayal of homosexuality in Africa.

What to Watch Next

If you’re looking for more films from the global south that portray homosexual relationships in countries that don’t have a place for it, check out Jose from Guatemala and Rafiki from Kenya.

Or for more witch doctors trying to cure people in Africa, Zambia’s unique I Am Not A Witch is a must watch.

Finally for more films that feature Romeo + Juliet relationships that are forbidden by society, check out Tanna, featuring an controversial relationship that crosses tribes in Vanuata.

Zepon (Martinique) – Pan African Film Festival 2022

Viezo and his daughter Victorine have spent happy years on the road, taking their prime fighting cocks and snake oil wares around the island. However, with the best chicken he’s ever had, Viezo wants to try his luck in the big ring one more time, reigniting past rivalries and old problems.

You shouldn’t be surprised to find a well-made film from Martinique. After all, one of the World’s most famous female directors, Euzhan Palcy, made her renowned Sugar Cane Alley on her home island. Whilst Zepon doesn’t follow the same post-colonial themes of Palcy’s most notable films, it is at least very well made, likely helped by the path that Palcy created. If you have a good eye you might even recognize actress Jocelyne Beroard (who plays Titine) from Euzah Palcy’s Siméon.

The plot, whilst colored by Martinican flavor, does stick to one of the classic tropes of World Cinema; the clash of modernity and tradition. Not, in this case, a juxtaposition of the modernity of the city vs. the country the two protagonists have been touring, but of the modern progressive symbolism of Victorine vs. the conservative traditional views of the island. As an independent young single woman, Victorine is progressive in her existence. She runs her own snake-oil style stall to fund her dreams of dancing abroad in America. Meanwhile, her father, and the rest of the island, are all stuck in an old honor code dictated by drunken handshake deals that play out in the cockfighting ring. The battle between Victorine and the island culture is unique to Martinique, but the modernity vs. tradition trope the conflict follows has played out many times before.

The highlight of the film is the cockfighting, which is portrayed brilliantly. From the intimate stands of the cockfighting ring to how the director chose to shoot the cockfight itself. For both fights, the director deliberately cuts away from the fight itself. Instead of showing the chickens fighting, the director firstly cuts to an impressionistic animation that captures the energy of the chickens in the first fight, and secondly, cuts to shots of enthusiastic spectators cheering for their bets. Both create two of the film’s most memorable visual moments and manage to capture the energy of the fighters and the crowd without showing any real violence.

For a well made film from Martinique that gives a sample of Martinican culture Zepon is worth a watch. Whilst it falls into some tired World Cinema tropes, there are some brilliant moments in the film that is supported by a light humor that carries it from start to finish.

Check back to our Pan African Film Festival 2022 page for more reviews coming out of the 30th edition of the festival.