Sissako will return to the University of Virginia from April 9 through 12, through the support of U.Va.’s Department of French, Office of the Provost and the Vice Provost for the Arts, in partnership with the Paramount Theater and the Virginia Film Festival.

His current film “Timbuktu” was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was one of the five 2015 Academy Award nominees for Best Foreign Language Film. It also raked in seven of France’s coveted César awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. “Timbuktu,” set in the desert of northern Mali near the World Heritage site of Timbuktu, recounts dramatic events in the life of a herder and his family set against the backdrop of the Islamist takeover. Like all Sissako’s films, it is a detailed and subtle portrait of the human interactions that can sometimes be obscured in media accounts of global conflicts. The gorgeous visual and aural portraits of desert landscapes, people and the historic sites of Timbuktu come to life throughout the film. The film will be screened on Saturday, April 11th at 7:00pm at the Paramount Theater. The screening will be followed by a conversation and audience discussion with Sissako. 

For more information, see this news report.