Lili and the Baobab

When 33-year-old French photojournalist Lili (Romane Bohringer) arrives in the remote desert town of Agnam Lidoubé in Senegal, the villagers greet her with great fanfare, an indication that they don't often receive Western visitors. Lili gets to know the townspeople, including Aminata (Aminata Zaaria), a shy single woman who serves her tea, as she takes their pictures. Her guide finds it curious that she has no brothers or sisters, while the women think it's odd that she has no husband or children. After she returns to Cherbourg, Lili meets Moussa (Saïdou Abatcha), who works abroad to support his family in Agnam, and through him she finds out that Aminata has given birth to a son (Lili had no idea Aminata was pregnant). Because she has no spouse, the village will force the young woman to leave, so Lili returns to Senegal with Moussa to prevent that from happening; but the situation is more complicated than she realizes. In the end, the lesson here isn't so much that one person can make a difference, but that not every Aminata will be lucky enough to have a Lili when they need one. First-time feature filmmaker Chantal Richard's observant direction occasionally recalls the work of the late Ousmene Sembène (Black Girl, Moolaadé), who also often focused on the plight of Senegalese women. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)