FESTIVALS: *Brave Festival Film (Wroclaw, Poland) * African Studies Centre (Leiden, The Netherlands)
AWARDS: * SXSW 2013: Special Jury Prize for Cinematography
TOUBA
Category |
Ethnography, History, Migration, Religion
Year |
2013
Country |
USA
Running time |
83’
Format |
16mm, HD
Production |
Little Monster Films, Other Films
Director |
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Touba reveals a face of Islam essential to these divisive times. It chronicles the Grand Magaal pilgrimage of 1 million Sufi Muslims to the holy city of Touba, Senegal. This observational film takes us inside the Mouride Brotherhood: one of Africa’s most elusive organizations. Pilgrims travel from all over the world to pay homage to the life and teachings of Cheikh Amadou Bamba. His non-violent resistance to French colonial persecution in the late 19th century inspired a national movement: freedom of religious expression through pacifism. These are lessons the world can learn.
