Afro-jihadist film bags Cesar prize

Nouakchott: Timbuktu, which won seven Cesar awards France’s version of the Oscars on Friday, tells the story of northern Mali under the control of jihadists, in a foreshadowing of the rise of the IS. Among its haul, it scooped the coveted best film and best director gongs for Mauritania’s Abderrahmane Sissako.

Originally to be filmed in Mali, most of the movie -- the only African nominee for the best foreign film Oscar -- ended up being shot under military protection in Mauritania, Sissako's home country, with just a few scenes captured in Timbuktu itself.

“After a month of filming in Timbuktu, which had already been liberated, there was a suicide bombing outside the garrison,” Sissako said.

“I thought to myself it was naive to bring a foreign team of French and Belgians there. We would have been easy targets,” he said. “I can say that Sissako recaptured Timbuktu. He liberated it,” Alamana, who advised during filming, said.