Ali Farka Touré

When reticent Ama returns to the city where she was gifted to a white art collector as a little girl, the quest to reclaim her stolen childhood quickly goes into a tailspin when she recruits an ex-lover on her mission. Escaping the city on a remote country road, their journey is beset with a series of bizarre encounters as their fate is tied to that of two passengers they pick up.

This documentary follows the legendary African singer and guitarist Ali Farka Touré (who died in 2006) as he returns to his home and musical roots in Niafunké, the village on the banks of the River Niger in Mali. Touré now sees himself as a farmer and family man, and is trying to improve agricultural and social conditions in the province of Timbuktu. The region has no roads and no electricity and Touré himself drove director Marc Huraux across the vast expanse of unforgiving desert land that surrounds Niafunké to make this film. The cameras accompany Touré as he goes about his daily farm business, and fulfilling his role and responsibilities as an important local figure.

Ali Farka Touré, the gifted musician and farmer, came from Timbuktu. Yes, there is a place called Timbuktu and it’s in Africa, in the loop of the Niger to be precise. As a child Ali never learned to read or write, but his early passion for a home-made one-string, violin-like instrument led him away from his humble roots to the music festivals of Europe in the 60’s. Critics and fans alike have compared his music to the Soul-Blues magic of greats like B.B. King, John Lee Hooker...even Eric Clapton. Ironically he had never heard their “sound” before creating his music. Amazingly, his sound is authentic Blues....and through it, we can hear the native roots, the origins of the Afro-centric rhythms found in Soul, Blues and Jazz! These Afro-centric sounds, which found their way across the seas to America during the era of slavery, preserved and transformed into modern Jazz, are the essence of Ali’s music.

Filmmaker Marc Huraux journeys to the small Malian village of Niafunké for a visit with double Grammy winner Ali Farka Toure in this compelling documentary. Huraux's cameras track the charismatic singer, guitarist and resident hero as he sets about his business and makes time for his music in his beloved birthplace on the Niger River. Elected mayor of the Niafunké region in 2004, Ali died of cancer in March 2006.