{"id":12362,"date":"2016-05-01T15:57:33","date_gmt":"2016-05-01T20:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=12362"},"modified":"2016-05-01T15:57:33","modified_gmt":"2016-05-01T20:57:33","slug":"they-will-have-to-kill-us-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=12362","title":{"rendered":"They Will Have to Kill Us First"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was tardy to the party on getting the word out on this one. It opened in Los Angeles on April 1, 2016, however it is continuing to pop up around the United States. Keep your eyes open for this one!<\/p>\n

Timed to coincide with Music Freedom Day 2016, BBC Worldwide North America released Johanna Schwartz\u2019s timely and powerful feature documentary \u201cThey Will Have To Kill Us First: Malian Music in Exile\u201d.<\/p>\n

Music is the beating heart of Malian culture, but when Islamic jihadists took control of northern Mali in 2012, they enforced one of the harshest interpretations of sharia law by banning all forms of music. Radio stations were destroyed, instruments burned, and Mali\u2019s musicians faced torture, even death. Overnight, the country\u2019s revered musicians were forced into hiding or exile, where most remain — even now. But rather than laying down their instruments, these courageous artists fought back, standing up for their freedoms and using music as a weapon against the ongoing violence that has ravaged their homeland.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThey Will Have To Kill Us First\u201d is director Schwartz\u2019s debut feature, and follows Songhoy Blues and musicians Kharia Arby, Fadimata \u201cDisco\u201d Walet Oumar, and Moussa Sidi as they each deal with the unfathomable situation in different ways. Telling the story of the uprising of Touareg separatists, revealing footage of the jihadists, and capturing life at refugee camps where both money and hope are scarce, Schwartz and her indefatigable, mainly female, crew chart the perilous journeys to war-ravaged cities, as some of Mali\u2019s most talented musicians set up and perform at the first public concert in Timbuktu since the music ban. <\/p>\n

Co-written by Schwartz and Andy Morgan, renowned journalist and former manager of Grammy\u00ae Award winning band Tinariwen, \u201cThey Will Have To Kill Us First\u201d is produced by Sarah Mosses of Together Films and executive produced by Andre Singer (The Act of Killing) alongside Stephen Hendel, Victoria Steventon, OKAY Africa and Knitting Factory Entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey Will Have To Kill Us First: Malian Music in Exile\u201d, features an original score by Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), and a commissioned soundtrack featuring Songhoy Blues, Kharia Arby, Fadimata \u201cDisco\u201d Walet Oumar, Moussa Sidi and many more.<\/em><\/p>\n

To learn more and see where it\u2019s playing, visit: http:\/\/www.theywillhavetokillusfirst.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n