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Deep Dive: Mali Blues (2016)

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Mali Blues
Mali Blues is a documentary directed by Lutz Gregor that focuses on four musicians in Bamako, Mali, during a time of music ban following the Islamist takeover of northern Mali between 2012 and 2013. The film features artists Fatoumata Diawara, Ahmed Ag Kaedy, Bassekou Kouyate, and Master Soumy, showcasing their lives and music in a context of cultural repression. The film premiered at the 2016 Visions du Réel festival and is presented in Bambara, Arabic, and French, with English and French subtitles. It captures the role of music as a form of resistance and expression against violent repression, particularly highlighting Diawara's performance and her stance against female genital mutilation in her childhood home.

Why Watch

  • •Meet Malian musicians fighting against music bans.
  • •See Fatoumata Diawara perform in her childhood home.
  • •Find out about music's role in cultural resistance.

Did You Know

•Mali Blues premiered at the Visions du Réel festival in 2016.
•The film features four musicians: Fatoumata Diawara, Ahmed Ag Kaedy, Bassekou Kouyate, and Master Soumy.
•The documentary has a duration of 90 minutes.
•The film is presented in Bambara, Arabic, and French with English and French subtitles.

Perfect For

Malian music fansDocumentary loversCultural studies enthusiasts