The University of Kansas is hosting the Africa World Documentary Film Festival this Thursday, April 10 through Saturday, April 12.
The convener of that festival, Daniel Atkinson, visited the KCUR studios to talk about the films he chose to show and the ideas he hoped to convey through the wide range of stories these documentaries tell.
One film director in the lineup, John Bosch, joined the conversation to talk about Sahel Calling, a movie exploring violent upheavals in the northern region of Mali in 2012 while telling the stories of the musicians who fled that conflict.
Sahel Calling follows those musicians' journeys as they resettle in Burkina Faso and southern Mali, becoming "le voix des sans-voix," or voices of the voiceless who stayed behind.
The Africa World Documentary Film Festival presents 18 films in three days, giving a nuanced and richly textured picture of a large, diverse continent as well as the global communities of the African Diaspora.
Enjoy the work of musicians profiled in Sahel Calling:
- Ben Zabo
- Disco, or Fadimata, lead singer of Tartit
- Baba Salah
- Samba Toure
- Achmed, guitarist for Amanar
- Virginie Dembele, a vocalist who has performed with bands including Rokia Traore
- Bassekou Kouyate
- Rapper Amkoullel
GUESTS:
- Daniel Atkinson, The assistant director of the Kansas African studies center at KU and curator of the Africa World Documentary Film Festival
- John Bosch, director of Sahel Calling
