TIMBUKTU World Cinema

Contemporary epic TIMBUKTU is acclaimed Mauritanian-born filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako’s indictment of armed Islamic jihadis’ persecution of West African Saharans. Lamenting a pained, very recent era where everything from music to soccer is illegal, Sissako’s tragic parable is set in 2012, as a jihadist group takes over northern Mali. The film’s structure is a tapestry centering on Kidane, a cattle herder who, after accidentally killing a local fisherman during an argument, finds himself at the cruel mercy of his region’s occupiers. Kidane is only one of an ensemble of characters affected by the jihadi presence, but within the strife there are still glimmers of hope. TIMBUKTU is Mauritania’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar®.