KATANGA: DANCE OF THE SCORPION

A conspiracy against the crown has failed, but the kingdom remains unsettled. In its aftermath, King Pazouknaam appoints his cousin Katanga to command the armed forces—a position of immense honour, danger and proximity to power.

Conscious of the burden he has accepted, Katanga consults a soothsayer. Reading the sand, the diviner delivers a prophecy with two possible endings: Katanga will succeed his cousin as king, or he will die in a future coup. The prediction lodges itself in his imagination. As loyalty gives way to suspicion and possibility hardens into ambition, Katanga and those closest to him are drawn into a tightening circle of fear, manipulation and bloodshed.

Dani Kouyaté reimagines Shakespeare’s Macbeth within a fictional West African kingdom, drawing on the moral force of oral storytelling, ritual and political memory. Shot in crisp black and white, the film strips the court of decorative excess and makes every glance, shadow and ceremonial gesture feel charged with consequence.

Winner of FESPACO’s highest honour, Katanga: The Dance of the Scorpions is bold, theatrical and visually commanding—a tragedy about what happens when the possibility of power becomes more persuasive than loyalty, love or reason.

*A major African reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
* Striking black-and-white cinematography and ceremonial production design.
*Political drama shaped by oral tradition, prophecy and contemporary history.

AWARDS & FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
*Yennenga Golden Stallion, FESPACO 2025.
*Audience Award, FESPACO 2025.
*African Critics Award – Paulin Soumanou Vieyra Prize, FESPACO 2025.
* Ousmane Sembène Award, ECOBANK Foundation, FESPACO 2025.
*UEMOA Special Award for Best Fiction Feature, FESPACO 2025.