The Origins Centre at Wits University will be screening The Manuscripts of Timbuktu at their next monthly film evening on Sunday 29 November at 5pm. This film was directed by Zola Maseko who was born in exile, educated in Swaziland and Tanzania and is currently living in South Africa.
The film examines the life of one of Africa’s greatest scholars, namely, Ahmed Baba played by famed Hollywood actor Eriq Ebouaney. The written work and revolutionary attitude of this powerful black icon are an inspiration to all. By dramatizing periods in his life, the legend of Timbuktu becomes tangible and the manuscripts and their contents are brought to the attention of the world by an African director in an African context.
“Every student and every scholar should be required to watch this riveting film about the lost manuscripts and libraries of Timbuktu. I have seen those books myself. Never has the story of the origins and history — the decline and fall and resurrection — of this African centre of learning and intellect been told in more compelling fashion than in this marvelous documentary. This film is a triumph!” — Henry Louis Gates, Harvard University.
Where: Origins Centre, Wits University
When: Sunday 29 November
Time: 5pm for 5.30pm start
Cost: R40 per adult or R30 per student
RSVP: ask@origins.org.za or 011-717-4700
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“O Allah! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell, and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty.” – Rabi’a Al-Basri (717‚Äì801)
About Haroun Kola
