Mother of the Dunes

Described by director and screenwriter Abdoulaye Ascofaré as a homage to his mother, who herself had a hard life, the film follows the fortunes of a mother struggling to look after her handicapped husband and three difficult children. Faraw! shows the impact of visiting Europeans on the African family, and aims for a true sense of realism, rather than resorting to melodrama (although the film does include a dream sequence).

The film’s cinematographer, Yorgos Arvanitis, is better known as the regular collaborator of Greek director Theo Angelopoulos. Here, he uses his skill to recreate the immensity of the desert, and to suggest its vast, silent, cruelty. Ascofaré is full of praise for his lead actress, Aminata Ousmane, in her role as the mother of the sands.

But perhaps the real star of the film is the Sahara itself, in the way it affects the life of all those who live with it. Ascofaré has sought to replicate in his film the way the desert’s calm but persistent rhythm dominates the characters’ lives and controls their destiny.