Baarakètò
Working | Au Travail
About
Baarakètò (‘Working’) is a 2022 documentary-short series focused on five working adults of the Manding-speaking West African diaspora of greater Paris.
Each episode is a portrait of one individual, whose story and journey we come to understand through seeing the ordinary details of their livelihood.
With subtitles in Manding (N’ko and Latin), English, and French.
Episodes
1) The Cook
N bɛ baara kɛ restauration na. Ne ye cuisinier le ye. N ka baara le ye ale ye.
I work in the restaurant industry. I am a cook. That's my work.
Je travaille dans la restauration. Je suis cuisinier. Ça, c'est mon travail.
2) The Commuter
N bɛ lɛrɛ kelen le kɛ ka se baarakɛyɔrɔ la. Lɛrɛ kelen.
It makes me an hour to get to work. One hour.
Je mets une heure pour aller au travail. Une heure.
3) The Journalist
N denmisɛnma, n tun bɛ kunnafonidilaw lajɛ. N tun bɛ u lajɛ jabaranin la. À tun bɛ na n kun na k'à fɔ, “Yala n yɛrɛ bɛ se ka nin ɲɔgɔn si kɛ wa?”
As a child, I would watch journalists. I would watch them on the television. It would come to me, "Can I do something like that?"
Comme enfant, je regardais les journalistes. Je les regardais à la télé. Ça me venait, "Est-ce que je pourrais faire quelque chose comme ça?"
4) The Tailor
N kà à lɔn n tun bɛ kalali kɛ, mais k'à fɔ ko n bɛna to à kan... O tun tɛ n kɔnɔ.
I knew that I'd tailor, but if you had said that I'd stick with it... I didn't have that in mind.
Je savais que j'allais coudre, mais tu m'avais dit que je resterais dedans... j'avais pas ça en tête.
5) The Entrepreneur
Ko: wariko ye n don à la. O tɛ. Vraiment, sogojeni kanu ye n don à la ani ka dibi sankɔrɔta.
To say money got me into it. It's not that. Truly, a love of meat and the idea of elevating “dibi” got me into it.
Dire que l'argent m'a mis dedans. C'est pas ça. Vraiment, un amour pour la viande et l’idée d’élever le “dibi” m'a mis dedans.
Workbook
Flashcards and interactive exercises to practice the grammar and vocabulary of every episode!
COMING SOON
Credits
Directed and produced by Evan Molyneaux and Coleman Donaldson.
Starring friends living in greater Paris.
N’ko subtitles assistance from Baba Mamadi Diané.
Subtitle conventions available here.
This film was produced with the support of An ka taa patrons.
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