Germany hosts festival for African films on terrorism

Shaimaa Hefzy

The German city of Cologne hosted a movie festival for terrorist-themed African films. The Afrika Film Festival Köln, featured a number of Arab films focused on the influence of political Islam in these countries.

The festival screened six films, narrating stories of young people who joined terrorist organizations and how that had affected their everyday and family lives.

Fatwa

Fatwa is a Tunisian film which won an award from Carthage Film Festival. It narrates the story of a father who finds out that his son was a member of an extremist group. He tries to understand what happened to his son throughout the film, but his attempts get him into trouble.

Lost Warrior

The film is about a young man, Mohammed al-Somali, who is sent by his family at the age of three to Britain for a better life. However, Mohamed joins al-Shabaab terrorist group when he returns to Somalia at the age of 19.

Investigating Paradise

This is a black & white documentary about how Algerian Muslims think about Paradise. The film was directed Merzak Allouache.

Divine Wind

The film features an extremist Salafi young man and girl — Amin and Nour who are planning a terrorist operation in the Algerian desert.

Artists and cultured people call for countering terrorist groups and extremism by both intellect and art.

Mauritanian film director Abderrahmane Sissako wrote in an article that art is capable of combatting extremism.

He said “Timbuktu” film tackled that issue.

Journalist Ghazi Issa said that terrorism has become one of the taboos. Issa stressed that these crimes, which are perpetrated in the name of religion, tarnished the Muslim nation.

Issa urged on cultural ministries in Arab countries to earmark special budgets and set up plans for backing cultural institutions to combat extremism.