Luachra Productions Mali film

BACKGROUND:

In 2004 filmmaker Dearbhla Glynn of Luachra Productions travelled to Mali for the first time, she describes the genesis of the project in her own words:

"I first went to Mali in 2004 to film the Festival au Desert, I was initially a little bit apprehensive as with most people on their first visit to Africa. After spending a week in Mali on a pretty adventurous shoot, I completely fell in love with the country, the incredible culture, the people, the cities and of course the music. I was frustrated with how western media portrayed Africa, furthering the cliché of the so-called "Dark continent". I felt like the west was very disconnected from Africa, people associated Africa with famine, starvation, genocide, Aids and war only. My aim was to make a film that would celebrate culture, and would focus on the positive and highlight some of the social issues that people face. I hoped that after watching the film people would want to go and experience Mali and Africa for themselves.

While I was in Timbuktu in the North of Mali, I heard music that sounded like traditional Irish music bouncing off the mud walls. I followed the sound until I found a Fulani man, a nomadic herder outside his hut playing an ngoni (African one string fiddle); the rhythms were so similar to the music I'd grown up with. From there the idea for the film then developed into bringing Irish musicians on a journey through Mali, meeting and collaborating with Malian musicians, travelling and communicating through music and sharing culture."

THE FILM:

In 2005 Dearbhla travelled again to Mali with producer Vanessa Gildea to research and plan the shoot with the Irish musicians, to establish relationships with acclaimed Malian musicians Afel Bocoum, Toumani Diabaté etc. Further shoots with musicians Liam O' Maonlaí and Paddy Keenan took place in January 2006, January 2007 and March 2007. The Malian musicians and the Malian people embraced us with open arms. The musical relationships that developed with Liam, Paddy and the Malian musicians are still continuing today. Our hopes and dreams for the film were now realised.

Mali is the 5th poorest country in the world but is widely considered one of the wealthiest socially, it has a population of 12 million people with maybe as low as 2% literacy in places. Musicians like Afel Bocoum write and perform songs to communicate with and educate people about such issues and desertification, agriculture, illiteracy, arranged marriage etc Music breaks down all language barriers and transcends illiteracy. Afel is a messenger and much of the inspiration for his music comes from the great river Niger, the source of all life in Mali. He is very aware of climate change and how Malians need to become more aware of what is happening to their river and their country.

Our aim for this project has always been to make a positive, colourful and celebratory film to highlight the issues facing Africa through the medium of music. Through the merging of the two traditions of music we felt it would be a more effective way of reaching the audience. Many filmmakers highlight the horrendous problems facing African today, war, famine and disease. We chose to highlight some of these issues more subtly and yet bring much needed attention to the continent but through positivity and music. People have become desensitised when it comes to images of Africa; we wanted to change these pre-conceptions.

With the assistance of Culture Ireland we brought the film back to Mali in January 2008. It was always our intention to have the first screening in Mali, to show the people that we had been working with for nearly four years the finished film. The reaction was rapturous and all the musicians were proud to be a part of the film.