The Last Song Before the War
Director: Kiley Kraskouskas
2013
90 minutes
The Last Song Before the War is a visually stunning feature-length documentary that captures the power, beauty, and uncertain future of Mali’s annual Festival in the Desert. Told through high definition footage captured at the 2011 festival, the film is a lyrical road trip through Mali, the birthplace of the blues, to the legendary city of Timbuktu where Grammy-award winning musicians play their hearts out in the dunes of the Sahara. After 12 years of success and unforgettable musical moments, the Festival in the Desert came to a halt in 2012 when the violent occupation of Northern Mali by extremists destabilized the entire Sahel region. To date, the festival and hundreds of thousands of refugees remain in exile.