Abderrahmane Sissako: Beyond Territories

Dear Abderrahmane,

Thanks again for Timbuktu,

that haunts me like a beloved music, especially the sequence of the lake,

that I found masterly.

I hope everything is going well for you.

On my side, I am still searching for a place

to be both fully from somewhere

and yet, from anywhere.

And this space, you know it already, I find it in your films.

I would like to understand how you reached this apparent but demanding simplicity,

and, as I am demanding too,

to know how you made it so that your sense of injustice,

so legitimate,

could express itself so calmly.

When could we meet to speak?

And where do we start?

In friendship, Valerie.

BEYOND TERRITORIES

THE LIFE ON EARTH - 1998

And here, in this early morning, is my virile prayer.

May I hear neither the laughter, nor the cries.

My eyes set on this city which, I prophesy, is beautiful.

Give me the wild faith of the wizard.

Give my hands the power to shape.

Give my soul the sharpness of a sword.

I do not conceal myself.

Welcome to Hamdallaye!

In the family court of Abderrahmane Sissako. "The man with soles of wind".

OK, that rolls.

BAMAKO, November 9th, 2016

The Life on Earth - 1998

It's difficult.

It doesn't work.

Communication is difficult.

Unpredictable.

It doesn't work.

Instead of complaining

about where we fell,

we should wonder where we stumbled.

That's the point.

Africa stumbled at one point,

because it suffered disastrous encounters.

Sometimes I feel bad about constantly bringing everything back to History.

Because the present is what matters.

What is occurring today? What am I doing today?

What is my engagement today?

Who is responsible, who's not?

Which politician commits him or herself for a country, among other things.

That is what we see every day, in our respective countries.

We, the intellectuals, who are frequently better-off than others,

we sometimes stumble in our lifestyle choices.

We stumble every day!

Firstly, I dissent from the idea that the main feature of Africa is its poverty.

It is rather a victim of its riches.

I prefer to speak about impoverishment.

Not poverty.

When you speak of impoverishment, you discover the mechanisms.

Bush is at the core of this mechanism.

Bush is the conductor.

Thus I do not see what, what...

What he is complaining about!

I say that the West has created and inflicted upon itself two fears.

Terrorism and immigration.

Let us be in peace.

We have to stop setting up the causes of the evils as solutions.

Kalidou Diarra, policeman and film enthusiast !

Hello.

Hello. Everything OK?

His best-known film is Bamako.

It's a very good thing to speak about Africa and humankind.

No, it's brilliant. He is a genius.

I think it's pure reality,

because the actors know everything about their roles.

The fact that the entire film is shot in the court is brilliant.

The new Minister for justice... Mamadou Ismael Konate...

A little bit of a nonconformist...

Before, people changed places during the shooting, but not here.

Timbuktu-Bamako...

The whole scene is shot in the family court.

This court where we are now.

It was here.

The destiny of Africa.

Yes! One can say that, that the destiny of Africa was discussed in this court.

We set the trial here. There were the chairs.

The magistrates were beside the kitchen.

The Court!

Even if you don't agree with the institutions, you cannot sue the institutions,

no country can make a trial, even against the IMF. But...

In a movie, you can.

Art can play this part.

I have always loved art. I'm interested in all fields,

but I find art fascinating.

Because it lets me see the reality from another angle.

It's like...

sharing the magic with the devil.

Seeing what the devil can share with you. Through art.

Having some...

another look at things.

With the eye of the artist...

It's pretty magical.

When I see a well, I understand: "We need water".

But with the eye of an artist, one can see it differently.

That's why, even if I am a policeman, I like art.

Have you read Lao Tseu?

Confucius!

I haven't read it completely. Only parts.

So, I underlined his saying...

'Whoever is excessive is unimportant'.

There is a lot to win in avoiding excess.

According to you,

We, the African nations, the African States,

we were quiet countries,

prosperous, with few problems...

Then came the World Bank and the IMF and we became poor.

We became increasingly poor, right?

As you said in your press conference, movies are like a language.

We speak it with our accent.

That was in Cannes.

True. True, I said that.

It's like modesty, like the words you have. You express the education you have had.

Like...

One cannot define... art, nor cinema but it is like your own accent.

You said that you still speak with your accent.

That's the way I see it. Like you say...

It's a language,

a language, so you speak it with... your own accent.

That's the way you create a voice. A style.

I had the feeling that I could be misunderstood.

That, by making a film-trial, I had taken one side,

like a lawman, like the one who is right, against the others.

I do not think that when you make a film, you are right.

So, I tell myself...

'Try to find a metaphor to set up the responsibilities.'

Painting them in black and white.

Two teachers, it's too much.

Spare the children.

The "structural adjustment" meant cutting public funding for education or culture.

Thus, " Two teachers, it's too much", and that's it, you kill one, done.

The institutions told you so, but you are an African, you cannot shoot a teacher,

you have to take one side.

And then Danny Glover comes, like, perhaps...

Perhaps he represents the author.

At this moment, perhaps, I am partly Danny.

He who considers all that, perhaps a little desperate,

and tries to ensure justice.

Here you are, for your work.

I found a reel from 1964,

where we can see.

I will read.

"Young and students Forum in Moscow".

I also found this reel about co-operation between Mali and Russia.

This is the presidential visit of Modibo Keita to Moscow.

For me, a filmmaker does not represent one country... He is an artist.

A filmmaker has a public utility. He doesn't belong to one country.

Being Mauritanian or Malian, that's the same for me. The artist serves humanity.

Everything could burn straight away. We don't wish it. But it could happen.

It's dangerous.

We are all in favour of independence and national liberation...

We are aware of our great responsibility regarding our future...

peace and humanity.

I apologise for such a long talk.

But we have a heavy heart!

I leave you a message. Perhaps it's late.

As you have perhaps guessed, I will not be in Moscow.

Please give my cordial and respectful greetings to Marlen Khutsiev,

my master, the man who taught me how to make films,

one of the first people who trusted me.

I insist that you greet him quite simply. Because I do not know how to thank him.

Screening of "Timbuktu" before his teacher of the VGIK

I could not fully understand the film but I see it's a serious matter.

And that it is related to the locations where it takes place.

There are films which speculate on a problem,

but whose making are very poor.

This film shows an expert hand.

It is very malleable,

both very expressive and controlled.

It is the true work of a master.

The form does not overshadow the subject.

The subject does not get the upper hand of the form.

I do not know about the influence, but I improvise a lot myself.

I really improvise a lot.

Sometimes, in a written script, whole pieces become alive, even without dialogue.

In developing a plastic topic,

I make a piece that could not be foreseen in the script.

If he learned that from me, I can only be proud.

I shortlist the students of our country,

then we consider foreign students of various origins,

from Europe and other places.

He stood out, that was obvious.

I don't know how it happened. Was it his gaze?

A long time ago, my master Igor Andreevitch Savtchenko

said that he did not choose us according to our scholarship only,

or because we spoke a lot, but according to our gaze.

When he saw a vivid gaze,

eyes that see and feel...

Those were the ones that stood out.

It was the same for me.

October - 1993

Forget about it.

I did not imagine myself walking in the corridors of the VGIK...