Mali: Tuareg filmmaker turns lens on women
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Loading... - Kesse Anim
- 26 Aug 2022
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Northern Mali is home to famous cultural heritage sites. If most of it consists of remains of the past, a young generation of female directors is striving to make a name for itself for posterity.
In Timbuktu, Fati Walet Mohamed Issa is a documentary filmmaker. A rarity for female filmmakers in the remote northern region. The 24-year-old has recently shot a 10-minute film entitled "Tamadjrezt" or "Regret" in the Tamasheq language of Issa's Tuareg ethnic group.
Her documentary follows a 15-year-old girl named Fatma, whose family fled to neighbouring Mauritania because of the conflict in norther Mali but then returned home. The adolescent attended a school built of straw, which didn't survive the Malian torrential rainy season. Despite her wishes, her father refused to let her pursue education.
The film is not only a piece of art but a manifesto for the filmmaker: "Everything regarding women is a problem in our country, because they are too heavily governed by the community. I made this film hoping that it would impact our community, hoping it would help change their opinion on young girls and their access to education. I also hope to reach the state and the authorities. It is a matter of awareness in fact, I do it as a form of advocacy."
At the film showing, dozens of people from the local community watched attentively. Girls and boys alike discovered the film, which sheds the light on the plight of women in the conflict-torn Sahel region that could change mindsets. At least this what Abel Kavanagh, Timbuktu Minusma spokesperson hopes for:"Cinema is an excellent tool to raising awareness about the issues that are the major challenges facing Mali today, particularly in Timbuktu and the region." Read More...
