Center for International Education Presents Film Series as Part of Seminar on Human Rights in Africa
The Center for International Education at Washington and Lee University, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, presents the first in a series of African films as part of the 2015-16 Seminar on Human Rights in Africa.
“Timbuktu,” 2014 French-Mauritanian drama film directed by Abderrahmane Sissaki, will be shown on Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the Stackhouse Theater, Elrod Commons. The film is rated PG 13 and is 97 minutes long. A 30-minute discussion of the film will follow.
An Oscar nominee for best foreign language film and winner of seven awards at the 40th César Awards (France’s equivalent of the Oscars), “Timbuktu” is based on the 2012 takeover of the ancient cosmopolitan city of Timbuktu in northern Mali by violent jihadists.
According to The New York Times, “Timbuktu” “is an unflinching, quietly furious exploration of life under radical Islamist rule. It also makes a point about power that even nonextremist, democratically elected leaders would do well to keep in mind….“Timbuktu” is a political film in the way that ‘The Bicycle Thief’ or ‘Modern Times’ is a political film: It feels at once timely and permanent, immediate and essential.”
Upcoming films in the series, include “Cry, the Beloved Country,” directed by Darryl Roodt (1995); “Call Me Kuchu,” directed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright (2012); “Yesterday,” directed by Darrell Roodt (2004); and “Moolade,” directed by Sembene Ousmane (2004).
