00:00This is the Leyre Kriyatrale festival in Burkina Faso, featuring 50 people displaced by conflict
00:10and terror attacks in the regions of Kaya and Tenka Dogo.
00:19They're retelling their stories through theatre.
00:37The terrorists came to our village to kill the men, take away the cattle and give the
00:42women three days to leave the village.
00:47There's a lot of pain because a lot of other people were killed.
00:58The director says such theatricals are not intended to re-traumatize people, but rather
01:03to help them heal from the pain.
01:09The aim wasn't necessarily to harvest suffering and heartbreak.
01:16The aim was precisely to use art to transcend all that, to celebrate life instead, to summon
01:23the return of joy, the return of desire, the thirst for beauty and social ties.
01:35Many participants say the project does help them.
01:38It provides a way to put their horrible experiences into words, without speaking.
01:47Often I feel sad.
01:49I sit immersed in dark memories.
01:53But with the theatre group, I forget everything.
01:58When I'm there, my problems disappear.
02:02I feel dizzy at times, but I get back into the game and find myself feeling free again.
02:19The show, choreographed by Gibril Vatara, is a combination of dance, song and theatre.
02:24For Vatara and other organizers, it has transformed the way they see their work.
02:30Before I got the call from Les Recréatrales to come and work on this project, there was
02:34a time when I wondered about it, given everything the country was going through.
02:40Me as an artist, does my art serve a purpose?
02:44And it's in my moments of doubt.
02:53The first day I set foot in Caille, I realized that the work I was doing was important and
02:58necessary.
03:02But above all, I learned from these people, and I learned that life never stops.
03:08Despite everything, there are people who, for me, have a lot to teach us about how to
03:12get back on our feet, how to stay on our feet, how to remain dignified despite everything.
03:18Les Recréatrales is still open till November 2nd, and open to anyone who wants to celebrate
03:25Africa's rich culture in theatre.
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