The Blind Couple from Mali

Amadou Bagayoko passed away on 4 April 2025. This marked the end of a relationship with Mariam Doumbia that had lasted almost fifty years. The blind Malian couple also formed a musical duo. They had been releasing music as Amadou & Mariam since the late 1980s, but it took ten years before they made their breakthrough in Europe and became one of the best-selling African music acts. In 2024, they performed Gainsbourg’s Je suis venu te dire que je m’en vais at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. As it turned out, this was their final public performance. In The Blind Couple from Mali, director Ryan Marley tells their story, from their first meeting at the Institut des Jeunes Aveugles in Bamako right up to Amadou’s passing. What is also remarkable is that he was present during the recording of their final album in 2023. The Blind Couple from Mali paints a captivating portrait of these two warm-hearted people whose vibrant lives lay at the crossroads of music and love.