Sira

A bride-to-be, Sira, crosses the vast and uninhabited desert with friends and family on the way to be with her lover. The word is out that she intends to marry someone outside of the Muslim faith. This fact draws the attention of armed extremists who attack the group, rough Sira up, and leave her to die. Yet Sira doesn't give up hope. Subsisting on raw lizard meat and wandering in the desert for days, Sira stumbles upon the terrorist camp. Here Sira intends to prove that there is more courage in wisdom and less in brutality and violence.

Director Apolline Traoré draws upon stories of real women in the Sahel region of Northern Africa where such terrorism attacks are taking place routinely now. "Too often women are seen as helpless victims," said Apolline at the North American premiere screening in Toronto. One woman took a bullet in her arm and yet still travelled for five days. While the acting is shaky and the dialogue is simple, this remarkable film focuses on the strength and well-being of the region's women and girls, and it gives them a voice.