The South African feature documentary, The Manuscripts of Timbuktu, directed by Zola Maseko and produced by David Max Brown, is the official selection for IDFA (International Documentary Festival Amsterdam). The film is screening in the Best of Fests section – a selection of the best from festivals around the world, most of which are having their European premiere.
Those who also contributed to the success of The Manuscripts of Timbuktu were DOPs David Forbes, Manu Lapiere and Nic Hofmeyer, and editors Guy Spiller and Taku Kaskela.
The documentary depicts a journey into the hidden manuscripts through the life of one of Africa’s greatest scholars, Ahmed Baba (Eriq Ebouaney). The written work and revolutionary attitude of this powerful black icon has inspired many.
According to Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Alphonse Fletcher University Professor. Director, the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research –Harvard Universit, “every student and every scholar should be required to watch this riveting film about the lost manuscripts and libraries of Timbuktu’.
