African film makes it to Cannes Film Festival 2014.

        

TIMBUKTU

Mauritania/French film in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival 2014.

Abderrahmane Sissako, on how his film came about:

"The trigger was the stoning of a couple, in a small village in Mali. Not only because this happened but also because no-one spoke about it", he stressed, lamenting that the world is becoming "indifferent to horror".

Sylvie Pialat, the film producer, on the subject of the film director’s initial intention to shoot a documentary:

"Timbuktu was still occupied and it was out of question to shoot in Mali for security reasons. When the French Army intervened, we felt an urgent need to tell that particular story. It took us a very long time to find the country in which to shoot the film, Mauritania".

Abderrahmane Sissako, talking about the "element of humanity" in jihadists, with much emotion:

"There is a complex side to each human being, there is good and bad. A jihadist is like us, but his life has dramatically changed. A person who abuses others may have doubts. This is why I think that there is a humane side to him".

Abderrahmane Sissako also admitted feeling "uncomfortable" on film sets, and his "fear of aestheticizing films":

"We are face to face with sixty people but feel alone. We pretend that we control and know everything, but that’s not true.

Interview directed by Benoit Pavan

Synopsis

Timbuktu is silent, the doors closed, the streets empty. No more music, no tea, no cigarettes, no bright colors, no laughs. The women have become shadows. The religious fundamentalists are spreading terror in the region.

In the dunes, away from the chaos, Kidane enjoys a quiet life with his wife Satima, his daughter Toya and Issan, his little shepherd. But his peace is short-lived. After accidentally killing Amadou, a fisherman who stroke down his favorite cow, Kidane must face the law of the new foreign rulers determined to defeat an open and tolerant Islam.

Against the humiliations and acts of brutality performed by these complex men, Timbuktu tells the story of the silent struggle of the people, the fight for life of little Issan, and the uncertain future of the children.