Speaking in a near-whisper that would startle most American ears, Abderrahmane Sissako, an internationally recognized and highly-decorated filmmaker, told an African Cinema class that he does not enjoy making films.
“It’s really difficult, and there are many constraints … If a shoot is cancelled due to weather, I am very happy [to be able to put it off]. The day I don’t have to shoot, I sleep very well,” Sissako stated.
Sissako delivered this news with only a slight smile, but his translator laughed as she shared it with the class — his dry humor was to be taken lightly. Minutes ago, he told the class that except for briefly considering teaching history in his youth, filmmaking is all he has ever wanted to do. After starting film school in the Soviet Union at age 19, he never looked back.
Born in Mauritania and raised in Mali, Sissako now divides his time between the two countries, although he added that the recently-imposed borders are not very distinct in his mind. Instead of these remnants of imperialism, he said he prefered to think of Africa by region.
“Timbuktu,” his most recent film, was shot in Mauritania. He said he was compelled to make the film after learning the true story of a couple stoned to death by jihadists for having two children outside of marriage. Sissako said he hoped to film in Timbuktu itself, where this event took place, but a suicide bombing around the time of location scouting caused him to make new plans.
The film addresses the atrocities committed by jihadists and the ways in which many people dare to defy oppression. The jihadists enter Timbuktu by force, disregard local customs and languages and control residents with fear. Their rules, such as requiring a woman to wear cloth gloves even as she handles fish in a market, are frequently outlandish, even eliciting occasional laughter from the audience in the first hour of the film.
In these scattered laughs lies Sissako’s brilliance — a deep understanding of people. By getting the audience to laugh, he gains their trust. As such, Sissako is able to portray each character empathetically without alienating the viewer, ultimately creating a nuanced and authentic portrait of a complex modern issue.
The jihadists are not caricatures of radical Islam, but fully formed characters. They disagree amongst themselves, break their own rules and even appear to waver slightly in their resolve. Yet, empathy is not to be confused with sympathy. The jihadists’ hypocrisy makes their exceedingly cruel punishments even more deplorable.
Despite tragic circumstances, perseverance remains. While a woman (played by Fatoumata Diawara) received 80 lashes for singing songs of worship in her home, her cries of pain transform into a new song — one of resistance. A team of young men continue to play soccer despite its ban, avoiding punishment by passing only an imaginary ball back and forth, their faces alight with mischief and joy. The central family in the story lives alone in the outskirts of town, refusing to abandon their home even as the last neighbor fled.
Images of the family’s tent tucked away in the dunes of a vast desert emphasize their isolation. With these scenes and many others, it would be difficult to overstate the beauty of the visual composition. Sissako’s characters are perfectly photographed, and his command of lighting makes nearly every still worthy of a frame.
Despite the subject matter, very few of these frames contain physical violence. The film devotes most of its time to exposition and character development, showing violence so sparingly that it maintains immense power. Instead of displaying graphic images for shock value, Sissako treats tragedy with extreme respect. Most importantly, his humanist approach to filmmaking never loses momentum.
With these qualities in mind, it makes sense that Sissako would not enjoy the rigors of shooting a film. During question-and-answer sessions throughout his visit, his relaxed posture and eloquent responses demonstrated an inclination towards thoughtfulness rather than urgency. He made it clear that he does not take lightly his position as one of the few African filmmakers known throughout the world, hoping to express universal truths through regionally-specific issues.
“An artist is without nationality. He or she speaks to the world,” Sissako concluded.
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