The film, directed by the hugely talented Cork film maker Dearbhla Glynn – whose previous credits include Dust Devils, the documentary on the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert – is a feature music documentary in which Irish musicians Liam O Maonlai (Hothouse Flowers) and Paddy Keenan (The Bothy Band) undertake a musical journey into a country that has been dubbed 'the heart of Africa', Mali.
Produced by Vanessa Gildea, Dambé, The Mali Project was premiered recently at this year's Festival au Desert, funding for which was provided by Culture Ireland. It will now also be shown at this year's Jameson Dublin Film Festival on February 16.
"I’m just back from Mali," Dearbhla Glynn told Hot Press. "We screened the film in Bamako at the festival and in Niafunke, which is the hometown of Afel Bocoum and Ali Farka Toure.
"It went great," she added. "The reaction there was amazing. It was a really special experience to have the first screenings in Mali."
During the course of the film, O Maonlai and Keenan travel thousands of miles from the Mali capital Bamako to the Sahara Desert, performing at the world's most unique festival, the Festival au Desert. Along the way they meet with and collaborate with many musicians – from Grammy Award winners to nomadic herders.
Other musicians featured in the film are Afel Bocoum (Damon Albarn's Mali Music) Tinariwen, Tartit, Toumani Diabate (Grammy award winner), the late, great Ali Farka Toure (two times Grammy award winner) – and many more.
Mali is said to be the heart of culture in Africa, the source from which the blues originates. "Even though Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world it is one of the richest culturally," Glynn observed. "That's something that comes through very strongly in the film."