Lingui, the Sacred Bonds (French: Lingui, les liens sacrés) was written and directed by Mahamat Saleh Haroun.
Narrative Premise:
On the outskirts of N’Djamena in Chad, Amina lives alone with her daughter Maria. Her already fragile world collapses the day she discovers that her daughter is pregnant.
When Amina (played by Achouackh Abakar Souleymane), a hardworking single mother, discovers that her 15-year-old daughter, Maria (Rihane Khalil Alio), is pregnant, she resolves to help her by any means necessary.
In a country where abortion is not only condemned by religion, but also by law, Amina finds herself facing a battle that seems lost in advance.
How to get an abortion in a country where the procedure is technically legal but impossible to access is the driving force of Chadian director Mahamet-Saleh Haroun’s meditative drama.
Teaming with cinematographer Mathieu Giombini, Haroun plumbs the depths of female bonds to create an affecting film about the lengths to which women will go in order to protect themselves and one another.
The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Fest.
It was selected as the Chadian entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.
Cast
Achouackh Abakar Souleymane as Amina
Rihane Khalil Alio as Maria
Youssouf Djaoro as Brahim
Following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the film’s distribution rights for the US, UK, Latin America and Ireland were acquired by MUBI.
Films Directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Bye Bye Africa (1999)
Abouna (2002)
Daratt (2006)
Sex, Okra and Salted Butter (2008)
A Screaming Man (2010)
GriGris (2013)
A Season in France (2017)
Lingui, The Sacred Bonds (2021)
