WHERE: Cinema Village
WHEN: Thu, Dec 11th, 1:00 PM
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WHERE: 177 Grace Dodge, Teachers College
WHEN: Sat, Dec 13th, 5:00 PM
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This searing, necessary drama from Burkinabé filmmaker Jean Elliot M. R. Ilboudo confronts the devastating reality of civil war and the destruction of childhood innocence.
Twelve-year-old Simon loses everything when a ruthless rebellion, led by the fanatical intellectual “Black Lion,” tears his country apart and kills his family, leading to Simon’s forced conscription into the rebel ranks alongside other children.
Under the influence of trauma and amphetamines, Simon slowly transforms from a gentle boy into a hardened soldier who kills without mercy, becoming a reflection of the war’s rage as the rebellion enforces its will through the macabre rhythm of “The Song of the Rifles.”
Despite his brutal transformation, a flicker of his former self remains, fueling a desperate desire to escape the nightmare that has consumed him, making The Song of the Rifles a powerful, urgent story based on real events, providing a haunting look at the cycle of violence and the immense struggle to reclaim humanity amidst chaos.
