A sprinting gazelle is cut-down from a truck by men with machine guns and a woman is hauled to prison for singing in the moonlight. Such events become routine in the wake of the 2012 fundamentalist attack in Mali. Arrogant and violent extremists administer horrendous and absurd punishments. They destroy grace and beauty with impunity. In a story based on real people and events, Kidane is a shepherd with seven cows. He lives a simple and happy life with his wife Satima and daughter Toya, their "little bird." They choose to stay in their meager shelter and small section of land rather than flee from the extremists. It is not long before they are sorry they did not choose to fly away. No major news outlet picked up the story in 2012. The launching of a new corporate brand eclipsed it. Hopefully the telling of the story here will put fire in human hearts to resist the terrors and injustices of absolutism. Seen at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
Review of Timbuktu
