Bamako

The Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako scores both politically and socially with this warm film, current on several levels and with the ability to tell a good story. Bound by big loans and structural adjustments, Africa is fighting for it's survival. Representatives from the African continent wish to hold international financial institutions accountable. The indictment takes place in a bamako, a backyard, among residents trying to live their normal lives. Melé is a bar singer, while her husband Chaka is unemployed, and the couple is on the edge of breaking up. Their backyard, shared with other families, has now been changed to a courtroom with IMF and the World Bank in the dock.

In an elegant way, Sissako raises questions about globalization and responsibility. Mali´s warm colors is caught by Jacques Besses photography, with Africa´s new sound heard through Aissa Maiga´s songs in the opening and the ending of the film. With a film this lively and entertaining, the audience is introduced to global politics and economics, as well as given an exhilarating image of todays Africa.

Abderrahmane Sissako was born in Mauritania in 1961, grew up in Mali, and studied film at the Federal State Film Institute in Moscow. He has directed a series of prize-winning films including Life on Earth (1998), Waiting for Happiness (2002) and Timbuktu (2014), which deal with the themes of exile, and the relationship between Africa and the West through a typical combination of documentary, fiction, politics and poetry.

Artist talk: Abderrahmane Sissako
Film: Timbuktu
Time: October 14, 17:00 o'clock
Location: Filmens Hus
In connection with the screening there will be a conversation between the director Abderrahmane Sissako and Thor Joachim Haga of Montages.
Film: Timbuktu
Time: October 15, 19:00 o'clock.
Location: Victoria 4
In connection with the screening there will be a conversation with the director Abderrahmane Sissako.
Film: Life on Earth
Time: October 16, 21:30 o'clock.
Location: Klingenberg 2
In connection with the screening there will be an introduction and Q&A with the director Abderrahmane Sissako.
Film: Bamako
Time: October 17, 13:00 o'clock.
Location: Victoria 1
In connection with the screening there will be an introduction and Q&A with the director Abderrahmane Sissako.