Great African director Abderrahmane Sissako brings his lucid brilliance and unparalleled artistry to this Oscar®-nominated account of the early days of the Islamic Jihadist takeover of northern Timbuktu in 2012. The once bustling city is now near-silent - under their new rulers music, soccer, laughter and smoking are banned outright, and women have to wear socks and gloves in the sweltering heat, and kangaroo courts hand down horrendous and absurd punishments by the might of the gun.

Sissako gracefully weaves between small but significant stories, some of which are seen only fleetingly (the football fans who find their way around the new rules by playing with an imaginary ball), while others, like a local shepherd who lives freely outside of the city in the desert with his family, we come to know intimately. Offering moments of droll humour and startling beauty (it is shot in gorgeously composed takes by Blue is the Warmest Colour’s cinematographer Sofiane El Fani), this is a deeply humane and deeply devastating film. Its cry for justice simply cannot be ignored – Timbuktu is one of the most important, soulful cinematic experiences of the year.

Part of Conversations About Cinema: Impact of Conflict. Presented in partnership with Afrika Eye.

• The evening screening of Timbuktu on Tue 23 June is part of our Cinébites deal: get a cinema ticket, veggie or meat Thai bites, and a drink (wine/beer or soft drink) for only £15.

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