Listen to the words of African historians from the 17th century, and griots from the 21st century tell the history of West Africa. If the history of a real “Wakanda” existed, it would have been recorded by griots that narrate BEFORE THINGS FELL APART. In production over a period of several years, BEFORE THINGS FELL APART was filmed in Mali and Morocco. The key areas and artifacts in Timbuktu, Gao, and Djenne were filmed one month before the Civil War devastated the area. BEFORE THINGS FELL APART will subvert your expectations of a traditional narrative documentary, instead viewers share the inspiration from the images, animation, and music that infuses this ancient tale’s relevance to our contemporary interest. This documentary is inspired by the oral history recounted by traditional Griots, and the history books written on the African continent.