They Will Have To Kill Us First

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For musicians in Mali, music is not about money or fame, but survival. When Al-Qaeda occupied northern Mali in 2012, western-inspired music became a mortal sin from one day to the next. Radio stations closed down, instruments were burned and the Malian musicians were exposed to threats that forced people like Khaira Arby, Songhoy Blues and Africa Express to live a life in exile in the south, where the fear of the regime is constantly lurking. But as Arby says in the film, “there is no life without music”. To insist on music and freedom is a fight where one's life is at stake, but it is also the Malian musicians' only weapon against the invasion that has left Mali in ruins. We are there when they flee, and when they defy danger and return to Timbuktu to play for their people. Through personal stories, fantastic music and a score composed by Nick Zinner from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a close-up picture is drawn of the music and the conflict, which leaves Mali with an uncertain future.