THE acts of terrorism have been exposed in a multi-award-winning film titled Sira, which is inspired by true stories.
The film explores the troubles faced by women and children in Burkina Faso. Sira is one of the opening films at the Durban Film Festival (DIFF).
The festival starts on Thursday, 20 July, until Sunday, 30 July.
Playwright, director and producer for this film, Apolline Traore, said: “The film is about what’s happening in the Sahel region, especially in Burkina Faso.
"It's about a young woman, Sira, who refuses to surrender to her fate without a fight. Instead, she takes a stand against Islamist terror.”
Apolline told Daily Sun that for the past eight years, they have been hurt by the acts of terrorism.
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“Four years ago, we had the most brutal attacks. When I started writing, it wasn’t necessarily concentrating on women. I was writing about what was happening in the country,” she said.
She then visited the refugee camps, and the stories of the women changed the script.
According to Apolline, there are more than two million people in the refugee camps.
“With the help of the army, I was able to go there and talk to the people. Most of those people are women and children. When you hear how they fled from their villages and were forced to run is just incredible.
“I felt that we are talking more about the crisis in the country and not about women. Everything else that they were doing was not seen. For this reason, I decided to put Sira, a woman, as my lead character to show that they are also part of this fight,” Apolline said.
She told Daily Sun that opening for DIFF is an honour.
“I feel incredible. It’s a huge honour for us. Doing this film was such a battle. It was a rollercoaster. I started writing it four years ago, and I only released it this year. The last time I was in Durban was 17 years ago,” she said.
