Theater am Olgaeck; Afrika Filmfestival - Timbuktu

In the organizer's words:

Theater am Olgaeck; Africa Film Festival - Timbuktu

Moving drama by Abderrahmane Sissako: a poetic film about love, hope and resistance against blind violence.

Description

The myth-enshrouded city of Timbuktu comes under the control of jihadists who want to impose their rigid rules on the population. In the midst of this heated situation, the Bedouin family of Kidane live peacefully in their tent - until a conflict with the fisherman Amabou destroys the fragile balance.

Director Abderrahmane Sissako succeeds in countering the burgeoning fundamentalism with a deeply human, poetic film poem. Instead of flat black-and-white imagery, he relies on quiet images that show everyday life in Timbuktu - and at the same time the tragedy that even in the most peaceful moments, strife and violence can break out at any time.

The idea for the film came about when Sissako himself witnessed a stoning by Islamists. He had originally planned an essay film about growing fundamentalism, but after this experience he decided to realize a feature film project - and created a work of rare intensity.

"Timbuktu" shows how absurd and inhumane the extremists' rules are: the ban on music, soccer or tobacco, the absurd rule that female fishmongers must wear gloves, or the desecration of a mosque with weapons. One of the most haunting scenes is a soccer match without a ball - a symbol of the freedom that cannot be banned.

Sissako holds up a mirror to blind violence with calm power and poetry. As in his film "Bamako", he proves that art is capable of making grievances visible where words alone are not enough. "Timbuktu" is a quiet, yet highly political masterpiece that shines a light of hope in times of destruction.