FEEL IT.STREAM
?

Yves Billon

Directing

Known For

Ali Farka Touré: Springing from the Roots
10.0

Ali Farka Touré, the gifted musician and farmer, came from Timbuktu. Yes, there is a place called Timbuktu and it’s in Africa, in the loop of the Niger to be precise. As a child Ali never learned to read or write, but his early passion for a home-made one-string, violin-like instrument led him away from his humble roots to the music festivals of Europe in the 60’s. Critics and fans alike have compared his music to the Soul-Blues magic of greats like B.B. King, John Lee Hooker...even Eric Clapton. Ironically he had never heard their “sound” before creating his music. Amazingly, his sound is authentic Blues....and through it, we can hear the native roots, the origins of the Afro-centric rhythms found in Soul, Blues and Jazz! These Afro-centric sounds, which found their way across the seas to America during the era of slavery, preserved and transformed into modern Jazz, are the essence of Ali’s music.

Ali Farka Touré: Springing from the Roots

2000Movie
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This documentary goes back to the origins of the conflict in Western Sahara. The reasons for the Moroccan occupation of this vast territory are economic: the region has mineral (phosphate, uranium, iron) and fishing resources. Spain occupied part of the territory from the end of the 19th century until the 20th century, with the support of France. The Sahrawi people have always fought against colonists; the Polisario Front was created in 1973 with the purpose of fighting Spanish occupation. The Sahrawi cause is supported by Algeria, which recognized the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1976, and Libya in 1980. We see the social organisation of the Saharawis, an originally nomadic people. The film ends by posing a question: What are the prospects for resolving the conflict?

Living in the Sahara

1981Movie