On 26 May 2016, UNESCO opened its doors to the public with the screening of two documentaries made by African filmmakers.

The screenings of Korafol, the kora player and Vivante took place in Room IV and were met with deserved success partly thanks to the profundity of the subjects treated and also thanks to the large audience.

The first documentary, lasting 52 minutes, was directed in 2011 by Mamadou Kotiki Cissé from Mali and recounts the story of the young Madina, in which an intimate portrait is painted of a young musician who loses her sight in 2002. Madina is the only Malian woman to play the kora, a musical instrument traditionally reserved for men of the “Griots” caste, agents of the collective memory and oral tradition. Passionate about this instrument, Madina decides to challenge tradition and to sing about women’s rights.

Not being part of this caste, she doesn’t perform in public as others do, until the day where her cousin convinces her to liven up the musical part of a friend’s christening.

Courageous and talented, this Malian woman shows that, despite the adversity she faces from her blindness and the weight of tradition dictating that the kora is for men only, it is possible to achieve your dreams and change mentalities.

To finish, the documentary “Vivante” by the Moroccan Yasir Khalil was shown, lasting 15 minutes and presenting Amine, a young architect full of promise and creativity.

Engaged in a tendering process, his architect’s office must present plans for a large project of high-class villas in the middle of the Bouskoura forrest, a few kilometers from Casablanca. Amine decides to present a sketch to his boss which validates the idea, but one which allows for the trees of the forest not to be cut down. This documentary reminds us of the importance of respecting the environment in order to minimize the disastrous consequences linked to climate change.