The Rima Film Festival, a yearly showcase of films that reveal the subjective experience of exile through the eyes of those who have migrated, is on until Saturday, as part of the Valletta 2018 cultural programme. It kicked off last Thursday.

While many cinematic and media portrayals on migration centre on the negative experiences of exile, the Rima Film Festival offers an alternative to such portrayals.

The festival is part of Rima, an anthropological and artistic project born in 2014, dedicated to telling stories that embody the diverse representations of displacement. Almost all stories being told are defined by the main storyteller – those who have personally experienced exile.

This edition opened with two films – Those Who Jump, directed by Abou Bakar Sidibé, and La Pirogue, directed by Mousee Touré, both of which have received international awards.

Throughout the festival, screenings will take place at two venues: Casa Pereira and the Malta Postal Museum, both in Valletta, from 8pm. A number of these screenings will be followed by special guest and director’s talks.

This year, the festival pays homage to Senegalese film director, actor, orator, composer and poet Djibril Diop Mambéty, who gained international acclaim for his experimental cinematic technique and non-linear narrative style.

The unconventional film-maker directed two revolutionary films, one on departure, Touki Bouki, and another on return to homeland, Hyenas, both of which will be screened at this year’s festival.

An exhibition of works by six photographers forming part of the collective Generation Elili based in Brazzaville, Congo, will be on display in parallel with the festival until November 13 at the Malta Postal Museum.

For more information on the programme, special guests and purchasing of tickets, visit www.rimaproject.org.

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