Senaf, Nouakchott's Film Festival

banner for Nouakchott's "Festival du Cinema"

 I was asked to make two 7 meter banners for the Cinema Festival organised by "La maison des cineastes", starting tomorrow in Nouakchott. The theme of the Festival is the "metissage" or the blend of cultures, as Mauritania's population is composed of  white and black moors and other African ethnies, Peuls, Wolofs, Soninkes and Bambaras.

 But when I got today to the "Ancien Maison de Jeunes", where most of the Festival is taking place, to take some photos, I discovered that maybe I should have visited the place beforehand as the distance was much shorter to the ceiling and the long paper roll had been cut by half...and placed side by side!

Moorish music

An Algerian friend asked me about Mauritanian music, so here are some sketches I did last year during the Nomad's Music Festival in Nouakchott.
Traditional music from the Moors will sound to our ears as a monotonous repetition of sounds in a rhythm we're unfamiliar with.
Its like driving across the desert off the track. Looking at the expanses ahead and thinking it all just looks alike. Gripping the GPS modern men can brave the unknown.

For the moors that have been crossing this enormous expanse of desert for centuries from Guelmin, Morocco to Tindouf, Algeria to Chinguetti, Mauritania to Timbuktu, Mali. This surface sends billions of information precious for survival. All their senses have been trained to capture the slightest detail in the landscape.

That's how you're supposed to listen and to dance to this music. Giving time to your senses to absorb this music that won't let herself be caught in the speed of our times. And that by their subtle changes will make the hands of women flutter like butterflies.

Three instruments can be found, the ardin a kind of harp played by the women, the tednet a four string luth played by the men and the tbol (drum) played by women and men.

The man playing and singing is Sidi ould Dendeni at the French Cultural Center during " Le Festival de Music Nomades" at Nouakchott, 2008.

Sahara, portraits sketches from Nouakchott to Tindouf

 I had another go at digital publishing and you can now visit my second book at issuu. I couldn't post it directly to my blog, probably due to my lack of hability in tech so you'll have to click here to be able to see it.

getting better

Alain broke his leg in a motobyke accident as he drove through a sandstorm trying to get to Nouakchott. He was lucky and with a lot of pain he could get his leg from under his bike and get some cars to stop. People helped getting his moto up and he rode for a few km to the Gendarmerie control where he rested for a while. A car with some french people arrived and brought him to Nouakchott, while one of the travellers drove his byke.
 He went straight into a Private Clinique where he was operated and here you see him waiting for his plane back to France.
 He never lost his good humour and he thinks he'll be back in 5 months to pick his byke and keep riding.