Sahel Calling

My friend Kap – the same friend who took me along on an amazing trip to Senegal last year, and who's also the source of much of what I know about West Africa – is making a movie.

Specifically, she's making a documentary (two, actually) about Mali, as part of a project called Sahel Calling.

It will focus on Malian musicians (the country is famous for its music scene), the dire political situation in northern Mali (I don't feel qualified to try to describe it, but further down on the project's press page you can find some articles on the political situation, the Islamist takeover of the north of the country and how it's affecting people) and the intersection of those two things, Malian musicians and the situation in Mali. As Sahel Calling's website says:

"The project is inspired by the musicians in the region who are risking their lives by singing and speaking about the political situation and the violation of human rights."

The film will follow musicians traveling to the Festival au Désert, Mali's famous music festival, which usually takes place outside Timbuktu in northern Mali. That's not possible this year, because of the violence and instability in the region, so instead the festival will take the form of two caravans traveling through West Africa and converging for a "festival in exile" in neighboring Burkina Faso.

The Sahel Calling project itself is "supported and approved by UNHCR, Oxfam and Conscience International."

I'm mentioning it here because I believe in Kap and her dedication to this project, and because this might interest some of you, whether through personal ties to West Africa, a love of music or just general interest.

Also, though, the project is currently trying to get together the start-up funding it needs in order to shoot a movie teaser, which can then be used to get much larger-scale funding. So if you find yourself short on causes to support (I'm not exactly sure how that could be, in this world, but you never know) then check out the project's "get involved" page. (You don't have to get financially involved – you can also submit questions for the film, "like" it on Facebook, follow it on Twitter, etc. Or just spread the word on to others.)

Speaking of films about music and Mali: If you haven't seen "Throw Down Your Heart," about banjo legend Béla Fleck's trip to explore the banjo's musical roots in Africa, it's really worth it. A moving story about music and its power to connect people. Here's the trailer to that movie: