Friday, October 28, 2011

14 Kilometros: Highly Recommended Film!


A couple of years ago, Gerardo Olivares filmed an incredible drama depicting the hardship and determination of three young people from central African who depart for Europe in search of a better life. They eventually get stranded in the desert with little hope of survival. Buba (Adoum Moussa) is an auto mechanic who lives with his brother Mukela (Illiassou Mahamadou Alzouma) in a poor village in Niger. As Buba is a talented soccer player, they decide to travel to Spain, where Buba might play professionally. They pay a smuggler $1,000 each for passage in the back of a truck headed for Algeria, where, they are told, they can find safe passage to Spain. En route, Buba and Mukela meet Violeta (Aminata Kanta), a teenage girl from Mali who is escaping an arranged marriage to an old man she hates. During the trip into Algeria, the three begin to have doubts about the smugglers, and their fears become reality when they're dumped in the desert fourteen kilometers from their destination. Buba, Mukela and Violeta are told they're only four hours from their destination on foot, but with no compass, they get hopelessly lost in the sandy plains with no idea of how to make their way to civilization. But with the help of Tuareg horsemen and unbelievable luck and courage, two of the travellers are able to push on.

As one reviewer commented, this film pays tribute to the bravery of many Africans who venture to Europe. It is also incredibly moving.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

In 2205 I dedicated an Exhibition of 100 paintings to the issue of migration. I then tried to walk along the Africans who had decided to seek a better world into the sea of hope, I wanted to see how they crossed the desert, backpacks chose them, and took things into, whom he met, who were walking together. An I, with my brushes! but with a little bit pity, what it means to suffer with... (them). There, desert animals sick as themselves, and... stranded on the sand, boats, waiting for. I was there! as a silent witness and invisible, I wanted to know what is the color of Africa, smell, the pain of sun, that animist prayers prayed, and... what else, indeed!
14 km
The movie you speak of, can be seen in our cinema? poster image brings me some memories.
Thank you for choosing a topic so close.
Juan Marqués

Anonymous said...

I meant 2005 of course, excuse

David Shea said...

Dear Juan
Your 100-painting project sounds interesting. I would love to see the results.
The film 14 Kilometros is available for loan from the Las Palmas central library in San Telmo, near the bus station. Like you, the director Olivares tries to portray the human side of migration and provides many endearing details about this daring venture. The great desert sandscapes, the overloaded caravan, the lonely border guard, the hopes and fears, the desperation and the undying hope. Thank you for your insights and wisdom. Best wishes, David

David Shea said...

Juan
By the way, you may want to bring in a memory stick with some of your work to class. We could share the paintings with the other students. Thanks, David